Missing Nin's
by Cailin Nipple King Marangos
Summary: Naruto has been selected to take on a rather disturbing mission. He has to become a Missing-nin in order to save Konoha from the manipulative actions of the Sixth Hokage. He has a teammate to assist him on this mission; Hyuuga Hinata. NaruxHina eventually (possibly during Chapter 7 or 8) Reviews are appreciated, but not necessary. Will finish off, don't worry your nipples. :)
1. Chapter 1

Missing Nins

**Bold writing – Kyuubi is talking  
**'Anything in inverted commas' – A person thinking to themselves.  
"In speech marks" – People talking (duh xD)  
_Slanted writing – Either a dream or a flashback.  
T-T = Section Break_

_BEFORE WE START:_

_No, Naruto and Hinata are not evil; not entirely (think of them as a younger version of Itachi). They still hold the well-being of Konoha in high regard, and will not hesitate to end a life if it is to protect themselves or Konoha. (Well, Hinata grows up before she is able to kill comfortably. Naruto on the other hand, will kill without hesitation)  
Naruto is slightly cold, mainly due to neglect and hate towards him. (duh) He's not all happy and balls in this story, which is also slightly due to the Kyuubi's influences._

_Chapter 1;  
_

It had been 4 years since both Hinata and Naruto became Missing-nin of Konoha. Their mission was coming to an end; the Sixth Hokage would fall at the hands of Naruto and Hinata, and Konoha would be safe from further manipulation.

Naruto lay awake in bed, his arms wrapped around Hinata's waist, holding her in a tight embrace. He couldn't sleep. He knew he and Hinata would return to Konoha in less than a week's time; he had been anxiously awaiting that day ever since they first became Missing-nin. Clearing their title of SS Ranked Missing-nin's, however, was held with very little care to the both of them. He heard Hinata quietly sigh. "Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked before turning his head to face her. He couldn't help but marvel at her beauty, but he quickly realized that she was as awake as he was.

"Hai, Naruto-kun?" She whispered tenderly, stroking his chest gently but firmly.

"We'll be back in Konoha in less than a week. I was kinda sceptical that this mission would end with us back as Konoha Ninja, but I know that is no longer the case." Hinata let out a small giggle over hearing Naruto use a word with more than 2 syllables. Naruto smiled sweetly before continuing, "We'll probably remain Missing-nin's for the remainder of our lives." He whispered, gently playing with her hair in the process. Her hair had grown tremendously since they left Konoha; her hair reached to just below her hips.

"Hai, I know Naruto-sweet, we will have to live with that burden of Missing-nin for a long time, but I don't think Konoha will bother us any longer; you shouldn't worry so much, at least we'll be together." She couldn't help but giggle as Naruto's hand found its way down her back, smoothly caressing it. She looked into his eyes, smiling sweetly before continuing, "Our mission is to get rid of the Hokage; I won't let anything happen to you, Naruto-ku…" Hinata was cut off as Naruto close the gap between them with a tender kiss.

All of the villagers saw Naruto and Hinata as mere criminals, but were unimaginably petrified of the pair's inhumane strength and skills as Ninja's. Their teamwork was something to be recognized as one of the best in the Ninja World, easily able to take down a whole Hidden Village with ease. Naruto and Hinata had attacked the Hidden Village of Leaf only once, and that was the on the day they both became S Rank Missing-nin's. After that day, the inhabitants of the Hidden Leaf trembled at even the mention of Naruto or Hinata's very names. The villagers and the Konoha Ninja's – excluding a few Ninja's - were oblivious to the fact that both Naruto and Hinata's actions were for the good of Konoha.

T-T

"_Naruto, you are – by far – the most skilled Gennin Shinobi the Hidden Leaf has to offer, mainly due to your brute strength and incredible chakra reserves. It is a wonder how you are still a Gennin; you could become a Jounin with relative ease. That is why you are the only Ninja in the village who can take on this mission." Utatane Koharu explained, with slight annoyance embedded within her voice. Naruto was only 14 at the time this mission was assigned to him, inevitably shocking him._

"_But, Granny Koharu, I don't want to betray Konoha; this is my village, no matter how the villagers treat me, and it needs me!" Naruto didn't understand why he was assigned to betray Konoha by disposing of two of his fellow Gennin Ninja's. He had to become a Missing-nin with a high enough ranking in the Bingo Books for the mission to succeed, and killing two of his comrades was the only way to do that._

_Mitokado Homura sighed deeply, before explaining in more depth, "As you already know, the Sixth Hokage eliminated the Fifth, as to claim the title of Hokage for himself. Nobody else knows this, excluding us three. Not only are the Akatsuki after you, but the villagers - as you know - are not overly fond of you. Becoming a Missing-nin will be easiest for you, as you have no ties with the village. Becoming a Missing-nin will also be essential to infiltrate Akatsuki; they need the Kyuubi's power, and if they have you as one of their members, they will not need to draw the Kyuubi out of you, which will kill you. You can then – in turn – dispose of the Sixth. By doing this, your status of Missing-nin should be removed. If, however, this is not the case, you will have to live with the title of Missing-nin for the remainder of your life. This is no easy burden, but one must take risks as a Shinobi, especially for the good of his or her village."_

_Naruto gulped hard at this new information, and considered his options. On the one hand, he could decline this mission, and continue his hateful life in the Hidden Leaf. He knew some of the Ninja's and most of the villagers detested him, but he couldn't bring himself to do anything to hurt them, unless of course the Kyuubi influenced him. The Sixth Hokage would then continue to manipulate the village, which Naruto hated the thought of._

_On the other hand, he could accept, and become a Missing-nin. By doing this, the villagers will hate him even more than they already do, and all the Ninja in the village will grow to fear and hate Naruto as equally as the villagers. He would be hunted to Hell and back, never being able to rest; always on the move. He would have to eventually return to the Hidden Leaf Village and eliminate the Hokage, which should clear his Missing-nin status, but he was rather sceptical on that aspect of the mission._

_He had made up his mind. He knew either option had more negative points than positive, but only one option seemed to be of any help to both himself and the village. He let out a small sigh, and looked up at the Elders, "Who… who do I have to eliminate?" He managed to whisper, his voice cracking with mixed emotions._

_Both Koharu and Homura sat back on their chairs, feeling relieved that Naruto had come to his senses. "Naruto… you must first kill a member of your original Team 7." The silence that followed was deafening, as Naruto's eyes widened with fear. He knew Sasuke was no longer a Shinobi of the Hidden Leaf Village, and so disposing of him was out of the question. His only other member was Haruno Sakura… his crush. "We understand your feelings for Sakura," Homura continued, "But this is the only way to receive the title of S Ranked Missing-nin; you must betray the very team you once held close bonds with."_

"_You make it sound like it's an achievement." Naruto whispered bitterly. He never thought he would have to make a choice like this; in one hand, he had the Hidden Leaf Village's future, and in the other, he had Sakura's and another Gennin's life. He looked up slowly, and nodded, his stomach turning at the thought of having to kill his crush. He quickly dismissed that feeling as he remembered all the times Sakura had abused him. His eyes suddenly grew with hate._

'_**That's right, Naruto. You hate her. Don't let yourself be fooled by these fake emotions of 'love'; it merely blinds you from the truth.' **__Hissed the Kyuubi in Naruto's mind. Naruto mentally nodded to his demonic counter-part._

"_Will… will I be the only one on this mission; you can't possibly risk having more than one Missing-nin?" Naruto thought aloud. No sooner than the words left his mouth did he realise he spoke his thoughts._

"_We had thought about that," Koharu began, rubbing her eyes before continuing, "And we have derived at a conclusion. The Akatsuki and the members of the village will find it a little strange if you are on your own as a Missing-nin; the ANBU should be able to dispose of one lone Gennin with ease. This will no doubt arouse suspicion, which could cause the mission to go awry. Which is why, we took it upon ourselves to appoint you a teammate."_

_Naruto froze for a split second before regaining his composure. 'At least I won't be alone during the mission.' He thought to himself, a slight sense of joy overflowing his mind._

_Naruto took a sip from his green tea, and began to question the two elders, "Who will I have as my teammate?"_

"_Hyuuga Hinata." Homura replied coolly._

_Naruto's stomach turned as he heard the name of one of his friends. He momentarily had a look of comfort drawn across his face, but it was instantly replaced by his usual emotionless expression, "Won't she just slow me down?" There was a brief silence as the Elders quietly winced at his coldness, "Her father will also disgrace her, and it's not fair on her to take this mission unwilling." Naruto didn't want to put his friend in danger, but he knew it was futile to argue with the Elders once they had made up their mind; Tsunade had regularly proved that point._

"_Hinata is considered a strong Ninja; she isn't far off from you, Naruto. It is just mainly her Chakra Control and Taijutsi that need some work. However, you can train with her, which will help you both improve. Moreover, her Byakugan will prove an excellent asset to the mission. Additionally, she willingly accepted this mission…" Koharu paused shortly and chose her next words carefully; Hinata had requested the Elders not to reveal to Naruto the true reason for accepting this mission, "For the good of Konoha."_

_Naruto grunted and took another sip of his tea, "I guess it can't be helped. You said we'd have to… kill two Gennin's. Who was the other Gennin that you had in mind?" He asked hesitantly, listening to the reply in absolute anticipation._

"_A Ninja from Hinata's team, as to create the illusion that Hinata is as deadly and as cold a Ninja as you. We will not make you choose, however, as we have already chosen for you. It is unfortunate for all these deaths, but they cannot be helped. You and Hinata will have to dispose of…" Homura started, but seemingly froze as Naruto's facial expression changed as he took in all of the information._

"_Well? Who will it be?" Naruto questioned, biting his lower lip in the process._

_There was an uncomfortable silence before Homura stated the name of Naruto and Hinata's victim, "Inuzuka Kiba."_

_The Kyuubi let out a menacing laugh in the back of Naruto's mind._

_Naruto's face drew a demonic grin, as he whispered silently to himself, "Gla__**dly**__."_

"_Naruto, you will meet with Hinata at your apartment in 15 minutes. You must eliminate both Sakura and Kiba once you meet up with her. No other Ninja knows about this mission. Only you, Hinata, I, Homura, Jiraiya and Kakashi know of this." Koharu grunted, her old age eating away at her energy, "I already explained your mission details, but I shall remind you of them; you are to meet with your future teammate and quickly dispose of both Sakura and Kiba. You must make it evident that both you and Hinata have betrayed Konoha; leave a note explaining your betrayal at the bodies if you wish. You and Hinata will then leave the Hidden Leaf, becoming Missing-nin in the progress. Several Hunter-Nins will attempt to chase you; Homura and I shall try our best to stall them. Once they reach you, you will have no choice but to eliminate them. You will then be on your own. I shall relay information to you and Hinata regarding the Hokage's actions and current schemes. Jiraiya will find you in 2 years' time; he said something about training you in the art of Senjutsu, but I have no explicit information. You and Hinata may also want to change your current attire before you start your mission. If anymore Konoha personnel attempt to stop you, you must take it upon yourself to eliminate them. In 4 or 5 years, depending on how much time we will need, you must return to the Hidden Leaf and dispose of the Sixth." Koharu gestured for the door, and Naruto nodded and made his way towards it. "Naruto?"_

"_Hai, Koharu-sama?" Naruto turned his head slightly, his back still facing the two Elders._

"_Good luck on your mission; I know it's troublesome, but it cannot be helped."_

_Naruto chuckled to himself slightly, before replying, "It's more than troublesome, Koharu-sama. It's a complete inconvenience, but at least it'll be fun" And with that, he briskly made his way out of the Council Room._

_T-T_

_Naruto was slowly making his way towards his a__partment, replaying all the information he just received back over his mind. He kept his eyes glued to the floor, as to avoid the hateful glares of his fellow villagers. He didn't know exactly how he was going to go about this mission; he knew he and Hinata had to kill their fellow Ninja, but he doubted he would be able to even lay a finger on his comrades, unless he was influenced by the Kyuubi's anger. He hoped Hinata had a plan. He then remembered Koharu's advice, and diverted his course to visit a clothing shop._

_It took him a mere 2 minutes to reach the clothing shop. He still had roughly 11 minutes to meet up with Hinata, so he decided not to rush his clothe shopping. He slowly made his way into the shop, instantly greeted with a cold glare. "Can I… help you?" The owner scolded, his voice emotionless and his cold eyes fixated on Naruto._

"_I'm just here to browse; my current attire isn't really cut out for a Shinobi." Naruto put on one of his fake 'masks' as he smiled cheerfully towards the owner. The owner's cold eyes didn't change in the slightest. Naruto knew his 'Happy Go Lucky' smile wasn't working, so he disengaged it and walked around the store. He needed clothing that would help mask his presence during the night, as he realized he and Hinata would be doing the majority of their traveling during the night. _

_His eyes instantly caught sight of a black long-sleeved jacket, similar to the one Jiraiya had bought him, but minus the orange. Naruto decided to buy three of them, just in case his were reduced to shreds – which happened with his original blue and orange tracksuit – while still having a spare for Hinata. He was content with his choice of upper-body clothing, and continued to find something for the lower body. His eyes immediately came across a short-sleeved red coat with a black flame pattern covering the hemline, additionally donning a black hood. He picked it up and thought it looked good. There was only one in stock, so Naruto couldn't get one for Hinata. He instead found a plain black short-sleeved coat with a purple hood, and decided Hinata would have to be content with that._

_He continued browsing through the shop, and found two pairs of black pants, looking similar to the orange pants he was currently wearing. He picked them up, and made his way to the owner. He quickly glanced at the clothes to predict their size, and they seemed to look more or less the same size as him. Naruto concluded that Hinata was almost the same size as he was, and thought they would fit her perfectly as well, "How much for all of this, old man?" Naruto asked as he approached the counter, in the most polite voice he could muster._

_The owner glanced at him, his cold eyes temporarily subsiding as he replied, "420 ryo; they're on sale." Naruto quickly gave the man 1200 ryo, instructing the owner to keep the change; he was going to become a Missing-nin, he might as well do one good deed for the day._

_T-T_

_Hinata waited anxiously for Naruto. She decided to accompany him on this mission for several number of reasons: she wanted to get away from the coldness of her father, and becoming Missing-nin seemed like the best way to do that. She also knew the Sixth Hokage had assassinated the Fifth, and the only way to stop him was to become Missing-nin. She also wanted to spend time with the person she admired. She blushed furiously at the thought of spending so many years with Naruto. Alone. She shook her head, ushering back the feeling of fainting._

_She had been waiting for almost 8 minutes now; Naruto was bound to come back soon. Hinata still questioned mentally as to why the Elders came to her first with the mission details. The Elders could have picked any other Gennin Ninja to act as Naruto's partner, but they had chosen her. For the most part, she was glad that they had; she adored Naruto, and spending time with him would only make her happy beyond belief._

_She was tremendously distraught of the fact that the mission specifically required Naruto and Hinata to take a life. She shuddered at the thought and hoped Naruto had a plan for this; she didn't think she could take one of her comrades lives. From what she had been told by the Elders, Hinata had to eliminate Kiba, while Naruto had to put an end to Sakura. Hinata's eyes welded up with tears, but she managed to hold them back; she didn't like the idea of murdering Kiba; he was friend as well as a teammate, but she knew she had no choice. She also felt a tremendous amount of sympathy for Naruto; she knew that Naruto had always loved Sakura, and for him to end her life just seemed inhumane._

_Nevertheless, she also felt slightly glad at the same time. 'Without Sakura, maybe Naruto will grow to acknowledge me?' She wished there could have been another way besides killing her comrades, but there was no point in trusting in false hope. She re-played memories of Sakura; Sakura always seemed to grow increasingly frustrated with Naruto, inevitably hitting him in a fit of rage. Hinata had always detested Sakura for that. Naruto would try to proclaim his love, but always ended up with a concussion, or even in hospital. Hinata clenched her fist as her anger slowly crept over her. She quickly unclenched her fists, and the anger subsided. She couldn't let emotions cloud her judgement; she hated Sakura at times, but she was still a friend and a comrade. _

_Her thoughts were cut short as a certain yellow-haired Ninja called out to her. "Oi, Hinata!" Hinata let out a silent gasp as she looked up to find Naruto walking calmly towards her. Her blood began to boil, as her cheeks filled up with hot blood. She could feel her cheeks redden, but she couldn't find the strength to tear her eyes off Naruto. "Hinata, Koharu-sama ordered me to get us a new attire; I already bought you some clothes, so we should get changed before we head out." Naruto slightly smiled, before gently handing Hinata's outfit to her._

"_H-h-hai, Naruto-kun. A-a-arigato." Hinata quickly took the clothes from Naruto's hand, inevitably stroking Naruto's warm hands in the process. Hinata let out a small whimper as a sudden burst of excitement ruptured every fibre in her body. She turned her head to the floor before continuing, "A-ano, where d-do we get c-changed Naruto-kun?" She asked hesitantly, never taking her eyes from the ground._

"_We'll have to get changed in my apartment it seems; Koharu-sama instructed us to start our mission as soon as possible." Naruto coolly stated, before donning his 'Happy Go Lucky' mask. The fake smile seemed to work against Hinata, as she blushed even more violently before letting out a small 'yes'._

_T-T_

'_**Listen to me, Naruto. I am only helping you because if you die, then I die with you. I do not want that. I will tell you exactly what you will need to do to your teammates. Do you understand?' **__The Kyuubi mentally asked. Naruto reluctantly nodded his head, allowing the Kyuubi to continue, __**'I will lend you some of my power when you are to kill your teammate. You will need to dispose of this Sakura pest as quickly as possible. Just a simple snap of her neck will suffice. Do not rely heavily upon my power, however, or you will lose yourself in bloodlust. This will only spell bad news; you will become carefree, which you will pay dearly for, probably with your life; these Ninja of the Hidden Leaf are all talented.' **__Naruto nodded, and continued getting dressed._

"_Damn these pants…" Naruto hissed under his breath as he was getting dressed. Hinata was getting dressed in the bedroom, so Naruto was stuck in the living room. "Fuck… they're too long…" Naruto didn't have time to go back and demand a refund, so he had to improvise; he briskly rolled up the legs of the pants, as to stop them from enveloping his shoes. He replaced his usual blue sandals with black sandals. He glanced in the mirror, nodding to himself, allowing himself a slight smile before removing his orange jacket, and replacing it with the newly bought black jacket. The jacket almost fitted him perfect, minus the sleeves hanging over his hands about 2 inches. 'Comfortable… I'll just have to grow into it I guess'. With that, he briskly threw his red coat on - donned the hood in the process - before slowly making his way towards his bedroom door. "Hinata?" Naruto called out upon reaching the door. Naruto gently knocked on the door three times, allowing Hinata her privacy; he wasn't a closet-pervert like his sensei, "Nani, are you dressed yet; we need to get going." Naruto stated simply, before he heard a whisper of a reply coming from the other side._

"_H-hai, I-I'm ready Naruto-kun." Naruto took a small step back away from the door, allowing Hinata to fully open the door. Hinata stepped out, slowly and wearily, blushing indiscriminately. She had also rolled the legs of her pants up, though she had to roll them up further than Naruto had. The sleeves for her jacket hung 8 inches loosely but comfortably over her hands, concealing her hands. She was holding her black coat in her hands, as to which Naruto reminded her she had to wear it. She obediently obeyed, as she threw her coat on, pulling the hood over her head in the process. She could feel Naruto's eyes scan across her body, as to which she replied with a powerful scarlet blush. Naruto gently nodded his head, and turned to make his way out the front door. "Ano, N-Naruto-kun, how are w-we going to…" Hinata froze as she realized yet again that they would have to take a life, "Kill them?" Hinata looked towards the floor, ashamed at herself for asking such a foolish question. _

"_I thought about it as I was getting dressed," He stated simply, before turning to face Hinata, "And I've got a plan. We need Konoha to think we're the enemy, so we need as many witnesses as possible; we should lead both Kiba and Sakura to the village central before disposing of them, preferably towards Ichiraku's." Naruto's face drew a menacing glare as he visualised the blood-shed, "In any-case," He continued, wiping the smile off his face, "If you feel as if you can't come up to the challenge, just leave them to me. I'll dispose of them… quickly." Hinata couldn't help but whimper at Naruto's coldness. While in the Academy, Naruto was such a cheerful character. However, he grew to become so dark and distant. She didn't know what had caused his sudden change of personality, but she would have to eventually find out; they were going to be together for quite some years, "But don't worry, I trust in your skill as a Ninja." Naruto gave her his 'Happy Go Lucky' smile, but she knew it was forced. She still couldn't help but blush furiously at his compliment; she was usually insulted for her failures, but Naruto had praised her. "I want you to drive a kunai through Kiba's skull." Hinata quietly winced under her breath as she heard Naruto's cold instructions, "You must not lose focus; I know he's your teammate, but we need to do this. Do not listen to his cries or pleads; just focus your intention on ending his life." Naruto slowly handed her a poisoned kunai. "Use this." He gently placed it in her hands, making sure the poisoned blade was a safe distant from her skin._

_She blushed at the sweet gesture, but she knew she couldn't lose focus; she had to listen to Naruto. She had to make him proud, "Ano, Naruto-kun, I s-shall try my h-hardest." Hinata couldn't help but wonder how Naruto would go about his duty, "A-ano, Naruto-kun, how will you… um… dispose of Sakura?" She quickly twiddled her fingers and stared at the floor._

_Naruto let out a startling chuckle, shocking Hinata, "Just let me worry about that." Naruto hissed, his voice overflowing with killer intent._

_T-T_

"_Argh, Naruto, why do you have to drag me to Ichiraku's? I need to take Akamaru home, he's not feeling well!" Kiba protested, as Naruto dragged him towards the Ramen store. Akamaru rested on Kiba's shoulder, letting out a quiet whimper to agree with Kiba._

"_Yeah Naruto, this is my day off; I have things to do!" Sakura hissed, also being dragged by Naruto. Naruto ignored their complaints and continued on his way. Kiba and Sakura sighed deeply, and just allowed themselves to be dragged. Akamaru could feel the killer intent radiating off Naruto, but the dog didn't think it was being directed at the trio. _

_Hinata slowly lagged behind, pondering how she would go about her mission. She knew there was no turning back once they had left the village, but she didn't want to kill; she could barely keep up with her father in their sparring matches, so it would be impossible for her to take a life. Still, Naruto had entrusted the task to her, so she just had to believe in her skills. She silently drew the kunai from her pouch and held it tightly in her hands, allowing her long sleeves to conceal the blade. She glared at Kiba, taking his weaknesses and his strengths into account. She immediately remembered that Kiba and Akamaru were an inseparable team; she would have to eliminate Akamaru before she could even think about killing Kiba. She gulped hard, holding her breath as they were getting close to Ichiraku's. Naruto slightly turned his head towards Hinata, giving her slight wink. She felt her heart race, as her cheeks heated up. She shook the thought away; Naruto just gave her the signal. She had to act fast._

_She raised the kunai and slowly made her way towards Akamaru. At least 4 dozen villagers surrounded the five of them, more than enough for their plan to work. As Hinata made her way towards Akamaru with her concealed kunai, she could feel the glares of the villagers penetrate the five of them. She increased her speed, unsheathing the kunai in the process._

_One of the villagers let out a quiet whimper as she witnessed the young Hyuuga girl unsheathe a kunai. She tried to scream to the young Inuzuka boy, but her voice was coated with fear. Before she knew it, blood was draw across the Hyuuga and the Inuzuka, as the kunai had penetrated the skull of the dog._

_Hinata controlled her breathing and lunged forward, completely rolling her sleeves up to reveal the kunai. Her kunai found its way into Akamaru's skull, releasing a sickly sound as the dogs cranium crunched, and the warm blood splurged across Hinata's face and Kiba's neck. Kiba instantaneously turned around, his eyes filling up with fear. The blood continued to pour out of Akamaru, and Kiba was too shocked to do anything. "AKAMARU!" Kiba managed to scream, shocking Sakura and all of the villagers as they turned to see what was happening. The villagers eye's also grew wide with fear, as they witnessed Hinata quickly flicked her wrist to the right, further penetrating the dog's skull, before withdrawing her kunai. Akamaru's lifeless body fell to the floor. _

"_AKAMARU!" Kiba managed to scream, shocking Sakura and all of the villagers as they turned to see what was happening. Naruto grinned devilishly as he snapped Sakura's wrist, sending excruciating pain through her body. Sakura let out a violent scream, and threw herself to the floor. Before her body had hit the floor, Naruto had grabbed her by the neck and stared into her eyes, his pupils growing red with excitement. _

"_N…Naruto… please…. Let me go…" Sakura managed to whimper, but it was of no use. Naruto's hand had penetrated her chest, sending furious pain throughout her body. The pain was too great for her to handle; she effectively froze in place, warm blood trickling from her wound and out of her mouth. She managed to maintain eye contact with Naruto throughout the whole ordeal, which only further amplified her terror. Naruto released his grip on her neck; his left arm still embedded in her chest, holding her up high. He clenched his right hand, making a deadly fist. He laughed manically before driving his right fist through Sakura's face. The blood from Sakura and the screams from the villagers only increased Naruto's excitement further. He removed his fists from her limp body. Her lifeless body fell to the floor._

_Hinata took the confusing as an opening to attack. Akamaru's body hit the floor with a sickening thud, and she raised her bloody kunai again, this time driving it through Kiba's eye, killing the Inuzuka boy with one swift motion. She further drove the blade into his eye, keeping her facial expression emotionless. She glared at one of the villagers and smiled, her sudden expression filled with killer intentions. The villager let out a blood-curling scream and ran in the direction of the Hokage Tower. 'Good, the plans running without a hitch,' she thought to herself, as she quickly removed the kunai from Kiba's eye. She didn't want to take any chances, so she raised her kunai yet again, this time driving it through Kiba's skull, shattering his cranium in the process. The warm blood enveloped her hands and the kunai as she raised her free hand and formed a fist. She drove her fist into Kiba's chest, crushing his heart as more blood escaped from the fresh wound. She removed her hands, leaving the kunai in his skull, and threw him towards the villagers, before giving them an ice-cold glare._

_Naruto's fists pounded the already-dead Sakura as she hit the floor, expelling blood and shards of her skull as his fists connected with her face. He was lost in the excitement of bloodlust and couldn't contain it any longer. His razor-sharp nails began to unsheathe, and he used them to rip open Sakura's belly, exposing her internal organs. Many of the villagers began to regurgitate their lunch as they watched Naruto pull apart the young Haruno's organs. Naruto tightly gripped her large intestine and pulled it apart, throwing one-half towards one-group villagers, and the other half towards another group of spectating villagers. His clothing stained with the blood expelled from Sakura, but Naruto continued to pound Sakura's skull, leaving behind a bloody mess of shards of skull, small pieces of brain, discarded teeth, and a fragment of eyeball. Hinata felt sick as she watched the scene unfold. She held the feeling of vomiting back, and she regained her posture. She was about to call his name, when someone beat her to it._

"_UZUMAKI NARUTO, HYUUGA HINATA!" Screamed an ANBU Ninja. Several other ANBU Ninja, each wearing masks - inevitably covering the sick expression drawn across their face - were also with him; never before had they seen such a disgusting sight. Naruto slowly turned his head in the direction of the ANBU, his eyes widening with excitement at the sight of fresh victims. The ANBU Ninja continued, his voice slightly trembling as his gaze met with Naruto's, "You have betrayed the Leaf, you worthless trash! By order of the Sixth Hokage, we will dispose of you without a second thought!" The ANBU was caught off-guard as Naruto suddenly appeared behind him. The ANBU tried to turn and hold his hands up to defend, but Naruto was too fast. Naruto swiftly slashed at the ANBU's neck, severing it with ease. The ANBU's lifeless body slumped to the floor as Naruto caught the dismembered head. He grinned devilishly as he threw the head at another ANBU Ninja with such force that it penetrated his chest. The ANBU collapsed instantly, his life ending before his body had hit the floor. Naruto quickly counted the number of ANBU's left. There were five left. He frowned, hoping there would be more for him to annihilate. He was about to sprint towards the first of his victims, when he felt a soft and tender embrace around his arm. He spun his head to the right quickly._

"_N-Naruto-kun, we've d-done the f-f-first part of the m-mission; we need t-to leave n-now." Hinata whispered, almost tripping over her words. She was frightened and hateful towards herself for what she had just done to Kiba and Akamaru, but she was even more frightened for Naruto; he had enjoyed every second of violence._

_Naruto grunted, as his excitement subsided, "Yeah, whatever; put a line through your headband, we're Missing-nin now." Naruto whispered back, his pupils retaining his original blue colour. Hinata was relived for Naruto to be back to his original self. She drew a kunai, slashing at her headband, leaving a straight line through the Konoha emblem. Naruto did the same, and turned his attention to the several ANBU still watching him, "You can follow us if you wish," He sneered, "But you'll only lose your life if you do."_

_He smiled as he watched the remaining ANBU tremble with fear as they briskly made their way towards the Hokage Office. Naruto's attention turned to the large number of villagers watching him, their eyes filled with fear. He smiled devilishly towards them, and threw a kunai at one of their feet. The villagers whimpered with terror, and began to run away from the pair. Hinata and Naruto made their way to the Main Gate, leaving the destruction they caused behind them. They leaped over the gate, and quickly made sprinted away from the Hidden Leaf Village._

_T-T_

_Hinata and Naruto had been traveling in silence for several hours; they managed to get 20 miles away from Konoha before Hinata began to grow fatigued. They managed to find a clear but secure area, surrounded by trees and wildlife, seemingly protecting them from the outside world, "This will be Checkpoint 1," Naruto explained, while using a kunai to carve a distinctive mark in a nearby tree. "If anything happens to you, come back here; we'll also be sleeping here, so you should get comfortable." It was little after 6:00pm, but Hinata was falling victim to fatigue. Hinata suggested the idea to go on a food run, but Naruto declined, "No, you're in no condition to go out on your own; you stay here and rest, I'll go collect food." Hinata blushed deeply at his genuine care for her, "Try and get a small fire started as well." He threw her some dead leaves and branches before setting out._

_Hinata was left on her own. She looked around, trying to remember the immediate area, just in case they had to make a hastily retreat to camp. She slowly rose to her feet, her fatigue slowly subsiding. She walked over to the dead branches and leaves Naruto had left for her, still blushing at his kind gestures. She walked back to her original position, sat down gently, and laid down the branches and leaves in a small clump, before quickly setting them alight with another branch. Months of survival training with her father proved to be of use to her now; she was glad to be paired with Naruto for that reason as well. She liked to think that she could help Naruto in any way she could, even be it small and inconvenient, like starting a small fire for him. She sighed as the fire burned. She gazed into the burning flames and thought back to Konoha. _

_The sight of blood and the sickling noises of cracked bones filled her thoughts. She let out a quite gasp, before shaking her head violently. She could not we-write history; what's done is done, and she would just have to live with it. Her memories thought back to how Naruto was seemingly enjoying the violence and gore of the whole scene. His menacing smile and devilish laughs scared her beyond anything; she whimpered at the thought of Naruto's anger suddenly taking control of him. She wanted to know why he acted so cold and distant all the time; she wanted to know why he was… excited to kill. She came back to reality and let out a small gasp, before lying down on her back. The soft and warm grass gently welcomed the young Hyuuga. _

_She looked up into the evening sky, overwhelmed with feelings of peace. She wished for Naruto to be by her side, and blushed at the thought. She let out a small giggle, before gently brushing her hair with her soft and luxurious fingers. She heard rustling in the grass and shot up instantly, her fear building up slowly inside her. She could faintly make out a bright yellow from behind the gathering of leaves. Naruto slowly walked out of the bushes, a full-grown deer slung over his shoulders. Hinata let out a quiet sigh of relief and gathered the courage to rise to her feet. "It's not Ramen," Naruto joked, a small smile spread across his face, "But at least we'll get to eat." He dropped the deer near the fire and gently began to skin its fur. Hinata couldn't help but gaze upon Naruto as he prepared the meat, "Hey, Hinata-chan?" Hinata's thought broke and she squeaked silently before making eye contact with Naruto. Her cheeks blushed violently, "I'm not much of a cook, so do you think you could prepare the food? I'll try and find you some spices or something." Naruto grinned slightly. Hinata noticed that this wasn't one of his 'masks'. This smile was genuine._

"_I-it's fine, Naruto-kun. I b-brought s-spices with me b-b-before we left. I'll g-g-gladly prepare the f-food." Her voice barely above a whisper. She slowly made her way to her bag and pulled out a concoction of different spices to compliment the meat, "A-ano, Naruto-kun, I think t-these will g-go nicely with the d-deer." Her heart raced as she caught glimpse of Naruto grinning at her. Her cheeks lit up like the midnight sky. The excitement and rush of blood was too much for her head, and she fainted. Before her body had hit the floor, Naruto quickly jumped to his feet and dashed over to Hinata's falling self, gently catching her. His fingers accidentally brushed her soft skin as he caught her, filling his body with a warm sensation. He immediately shrugged that feeling off as he laid her down on the delicate grass, being careful not to wake her up. He went back to preparing the meat._

_A/N: Yeah, Naruto is slightly cold, sorry about that. You'll find out why in the next chapter! :P  
At times, he regains his original 'Happy Go Lucky' attitude.  
He loses that 'Cool and Cold' attitude completely later on in the story, just calm your tits. _


	2. Chapter 2

Missing Nins

**Bold writing – Kyuubi is talking  
**'Anything in inverted commas' – A person thinking to themselves.  
"In speech marks" – People talking (duh xD)  
_Slanted writing – Either a dream or a flashback.  
T-T = Chapter Break  
_

_Chapter 2; _

**'Naruto-boy… we need to talk.' **The Kyuubi whispered, as Naruto gently placed Hinata down on the delicate grass.

'No, you have no right to speak to me after what you made me do; you lied to me!' Naruto mentally screamed, furious at the Kyuubi.

'**No, you have only yourself to blame. I warned you that relying on my powers would only spell bad news.' **The Kyuubi growled quietly, sending a cold shiver down Naruto's spine.

'YOU TOOK OVER MY BODY, YOU DAMED DEVIL FOX! I… I didn't want to kill Sakura-chan like that… she was precious to me…'

'**No, she was not precious to you; that damned Banshee treated you like a parasite, as did all the other inhabitants of that worthless Village. The only person to show you warmth in your pathetic life is that Hyuuga girl who's with you.' **Naruto quickly glanced at Hinata as he realized Kurama was right; Hinata was always kind to him, **'She'll ruin the mission with her inconvenient emotions. We need to dispose of her.'**

'No… no, never again will you force me to take another's life like that, no matter what you do. I'm not evil and cold-hearted like you; you've infected my emotions, trying to drive out all the good.'

'**I've merely been trying to help you become stronger; these petty emotions will only burden you.'**

'And you're suggesting that becoming evil is the only way to become stronger?' The Kyuubi sighed quietly before nodding in reply to Naruto's question, 'That's a load of bullshit, you damned Demon! I don't believe that something as wise as you could submit to such evil and heartless ways so easily. Protecting those important to you is what makes a Shinobi truly strong.'

'**You're only fooling yourself Naruto.' **The Kyuubi chuckled sadistically before continuing, **'Do you honestly expect me to believe that protecting such weaklings will benefit you? It will only burden you, slowing you down, which in turn will kill you.'**

Naruto shook his head, not willing to listen to the Kyuubi, 'I just want you to leave my emotions alone; I'm not a cold-hearted monster!'

'**I'm sorry, Naruto, but there is no way that I can comply to your request. Allowing you your emotions will only blind you to the truth. I already told you that if you die, then I die, and I will not willingly give up my life so easily.'**

'This is not your body… it's mine. You're just an unwanted guest. Ever since I realized you were nesting inside of me, I've wished for nothing more than for you to be gone. I really do hate you for making me so cold towards everyone.' Naruto muttered in a shaky voice.

'**I know how you feel, but I cannot accept your request. You must trust me on this, Naruto. You'll get control over your emotions soon enough.'**

'Just… just promise me one thing.' The Kyuubi raised one eyebrow in anticipation for Naruto's request, 'Don't make me cold towards Hinata. We'll be together for a few years, so we can't exactly have her hating us; the mission will fall apart.'

The Kyuubi sighed deeply before coming to a conclusion, **'As you wish. While you are with Hinata, I shall allow you control of your emotions, to a certain extent.'**

**T-T**

Naruto quickly snapped back into reality. He quickly scanned his surroundings and remembered where he was. He swiftly looked over his shoulder and saw Hinata sleeping peacefully. He let out a sigh of relief and continued to prepare the meat for his dinner. As he gently skinned the deer of its fur, he noticed the sky had darkened. He looked up and worked out the time from the amount of stars in the sky. It was getting close to 8:00pm; he knew he and Hinata had a rough day ahead of them, so they needed all the rest they could get. He finished skinning the deer, and decided to hold on to the fur; winter was approaching, and they may need the fur for warmth.

The evening breeze was chilly, causing Naruto to shiver slightly. He slowly moved closer to the small fire, attempting to warm his hands as best he could. A few seconds later, a warm and sweet-smelling cloth had surrounded Naruto. He gasped quietly, surprised at the sudden warmth that flooded him. He looked up to find a blushing Hinata. "Hinata, you're awake." He slightly grinned, before continuing, "Arigato for the blanket, but won't you need it?" Hinata slowly sat beside Naruto, blushing a violent scarlet as she did.

"A-ano, I'll b-be fine. I w-woke up a few m-minutes ago and h-heard you shiver, so I t-thought you'd need it m-more than I would." Hinata's blush refused to leave her face, as Hinata quickly looked at the floor to avoid Naruto's gaze. Her fingers twiddled with excitement as she continued, "Um, Na-Naruto-kun, the Elders s-said som-something about you t-tra-training me? When do we start?" Hinata rushed the last four words of her sentence, her eyes forever making contact with the floor.

"Well," Naruto slowly scratched his left cheek as he thought quickly about it, "How about tomorrow morning? You'll have to wake up at about 9:00am however; we'll need to squeeze in as much training as possible during the afternoon. You think you're up for it?" Naruto replied, his face retaining as little as no emotion.

"H-hai, I'll try my hardest Na-Naruto-kun." Hinata's gaze stayed fixated on the ground in front of her.

"Awesome, that's great to hear. The Elders told me you need to work on Chakra Control and Taijutsi mostly, so we'll work mainly on Chakra Control tomorrow, and Taijutsi once your Chakra Control has improved; dattebayo!" Naruto couldn't help but let out small grin as he saw Hinata's eyes grow with anticipation. She was genuinely looking forward to improving, no matter how gruelling the task. Before Hinata had a chance to reply, Naruto interrupted briskly, "Hinata, we should eat before it gets too late; we need as much rest as possible. We can rest once we've eaten." Naruto stretched his right-arm out to his side and pulled the newly skinned dear towards them.

"Hai, N-Naruto-kun. I'll prepare t-the meat. You should p-prepare the tents." She was happy to be of some use to Naruto, even if it was limited to cooking the food.

"Ah… well, about that…" His voice trailed off as he scratched the back of his head in embarrassment, "I kinda forgot to pack my own tent before we left." No sooner had the words left his mouth did Hinata blush a furious shade of scarlet. Her gaze left the floor, and found its way into Naruto's crystal blue eyes, "So… we'll probably have to share your tent, if you don't mind obviously." Naruto just smiled casually at his proposal, too oblivious to realize he'd be sleeping in close proximity to Hinata.

Hinata could feel the blood rush around her head violently, threatening to drown her brain in an ocean of warm and sticky blood. She could feel her entire face heat up, unable to tear her gaze away from Naruto's beautiful eyes. She finally managed to gather enough courage to reply, "H-hai, Naruto-kun, w-w-we'll have to share the t-tent it seems." Hinata's voice held no sign of suppressing her excitement; she would be spending the night, maybe even the next couple of nights, sleeping with Naruto. The thought caused her cheeks to burn with dark-red blush even more.

"Cool. I'll go prepare the tent. It's in your bag, right?" Naruto asked casually, as he rose from his sitting position, expelling the blanket as he did. Naruto was answered with a whimper of a 'yes' by the forever blushing Hyuuga.

With Naruto's back to Hinata, he briskly opened her bag, careful as to not spill the content the bag contained. He found it difficult to search for the tent; her bag was practically overflowing with spare clothes, Ninja equipment, a variety of herbs and spices, a weird looking book resembling that of diary, some medical supplies and a few other bits and pieces. The weird looking book instantly took Naruto's attention. He studied the book intensely, every so often stealing a quick glance over his shoulder to make sure Hinata didn't suspect anything. The book was made of an ebony coloured material. Said material was soft, smooth and luxurious to touch, resembling that of streamline silk. Naruto's fingers couldn't help but brush along the front of the book several times before holding it firmly in his hands. The book was small, roughly the same width and height as a kunai, while as thick as his pinkie finger.

The front of the book was plain and simple; just the ebony colour and a simple white empty nametag. Naruto was curious as to why the nametag was empty; surely Hinata wouldn't be all too thrilled if she lost such a wonderful book, but Naruto shrugged it off as a coincidence. The spine of the book was embedded with a deep and rich purple colour, seemingly screaming out to Naruto. Naruto was entranced by the beautiful colour of the spine, as he gazed in awe at the indescribable purple. He quickly flipped the book over, only to find an exact replica of the face of the book, minus the white nametag. Naruto decided he was finished with marvelling at its appearance; he was extremely curious as to what was inside. He quickly placed the book in his large jacket pocket, making sure Hinata wasn't aware that he had her book.

"Hey, Hinata," Naruto called out, gaining the everlasting attention of Hinata, "There was something I dropped when I went to get that deer, so I'm going to go find it real quick; I'll be back before you know it." Before Hinata had even a second to reply, Naruto dashed off, gripping the mysterious ebony book in his pocket.

He managed to put himself a good mile away from camp in the better part of 2 minutes. He found a large stump of a tree as he stopped running, and decided it was as good a place as any to sit down. He slumped down on his newly chosen chair, happy that he could rest quickly. He instantly removed the book from his pocket, and once again stared at the simple but brilliant ebony design. Upon closer inspection, he managed to faintly make out a few small spirals towards the bottom of the front cover, admiring the quality. He decided he had wasted enough time fooling around, so he briskly flipped open to the first page. He noticed as he flipped through the pages that only one page was filled in, in the form of a diary extract. He continued to flip through the pages. The empty pages were white in colour, closely resembling pure crystal. The un-used pages were virtually untouched, as they almost gleamed from the book. The faint moonlight only added to the effect of the crystal-like pages. Naruto quickly turned back to the only filled in page, towards the front of the book. He slowly examined the writing. He knew this wasn't a good idea, but he needed to get to know Hinata; they were going to be spending a number of years with one-another, and knowing some of her deepest secrets will only cause him to know her better. He continued to examine the words carefully:

_September 17__th__, Tuesday, 5:17pm_

_Father – once again – berated me. He doesn't seem to understand that I am only human. The expectations of my father are close to those of Ninja Legends, something I just simply cannot achieve, no matter how hard I try. Although, one boy in the Academy always manages to cheer me up, and makes me believe that hard work and determination will always get you through in life. I used to believe that, but once my father appointed my youngest sister as clan heir, no matter how hard I worked, no matter how much effort I put into my training and sparring matches, I just simply could not live up to the expectation. It infuriates me; father acts so cold and distant, and expects me simply to achieve the impossible. It's as illogical as it is impractical._

_It's just not fair. My whole life, I've been shunned and disgraced by the members of the Hyuuga clan, simply because I'm not strong enough; I am essentially a burden to the rest of my clan. They no longer see me as the once proud and powerful heir to the clan, but now as the burden and trash of the clan. It's just not…_

Naruto noticed that tears had seemed to smudge the last remaining word of the diary extract, presumably Hinata's tears. Naruto had known that Hinata's clan are well respected and feared throughout the Ninja World, but Naruto never imagined that they could be so... evil. He knew Hyuuga Hiashi was something of a proud and bold man, but he never imagined Hiashi could be so damn cold, even towards his own daughter. Naruto could feel a cold shiver run along his spine. He decided he spent enough time away from camp; Hinata would definitely been worried about him. He briskly made his way towards camp.

Naruto had walked for 5 minutes before reaching camp. It had taken him longer to reach camp, mainly because he was still somewhat disturbed over finding out about Hinata's plight. He discarded that feeling upon reaching camp; he didn't want Hinata to know that he had read her private 'diary'. He sniffed the air, his nostrils filling up with an intoxicating aura. He smiled dreamily at the smell. He knew Hinata had probably just finished dinner, and was getting ready to serve it; she just had to wait for Naruto to return.

Naruto stepped out of the bushes surrounding the camp, greeted by a warm smile and a scarlet blush, "Ah, Hinata. Sorry for taking off like that, I was really determined to find my necklace!" Naruto gestured to his neck. There, hanging towards Naruto's chest, swinging coolly in the chilly wind, was the very necklace the Fifth had given to him.

"A-ano, Naruto-kun, I'm just g-g-glad to see you're ok-okay. That necklace is be-beautiful." Hinata's blush refused to subside, as her eyes grew wide with amazement. The necklace was among the most beautiful items her eyes had ever fallen victim to.

"Yeah, it's the very necklace the Fifth entrusted me with," Naruto explained, as he sat opposite Hinata, his gaze never leaving her eyes, "So you can see why it means a lot to me; Tsunade-sama was like a sister to me." Naruto's face remained emotionless however, as he recalled memories of Tsunade. "Anyway!" Hinata jumped at Naruto's sudden change in volume, "Let's eat; dinner smells good!" Hinata blushed as she handed Naruto his plate.

The pair sat in silence the rest of the evening, as they focused on eating their food. Naruto couldn't help but ponder a little about Hinata. He knew he would have to tell her about the Kyuubi inside of him, whether he wanted to or not, especially if they were to trust one-another fully. He also didn't know what to think about the girl. She was shy and quite quiet, but also a big help. He knew he would have probably starved tonight if Hinata hadn't been partnered for the mission. He also felt… calm and at peace while around her, as if her presence had an effect on his anger.

Hinata sat in the comfortable silence, her thoughts taking complete control of her. She wanted nothing more than to be together with Naruto, as well as help him in any way she could. She was more than grateful to be on this mission with him, no matter the risk. She would stay a Missing-nin for the remainder of her life if it meant to be with Naruto, even for a little while.

"Hinata? Hinata-chan?" Hinata's trail of thought abruptly stopped as she heard her name being called out. She looked up to see a familiar yellow-haired Ninja, standing no less than 3 inches from her face. She could feel her cheeks burn up with blush. "I thought you'd never snap out of it." Naruto jokingly scoffed, pulling his face away from Hinata's. Hinata could only do the thing she was best at; blush indiscriminately, "Anyway, we should call it a night. I'll set up the tent."

Less than 3 minutes passed once Naruto had finished pitching the tent. The tent wasn't humungous, but it wasn't small. It could easily fit three fully-grown adults, while still having enough arm space for the trio. Naruto was the first to crawl into the tent, expelling his blood-stained coat and jacket as he did. He noticed Hinata appear at the tent entrance, but decided to pretend he didn't even know she was there. He quickly crawled into his blanket, his back facing the entrance. He didn't close his eyes, he just lay there, wide awake.

Hinata was last to enter into the tent. Her eyes grew wide with shock and excitement as she witnessed a bare topped Naruto about to crawl into bed. Blood rushed around her head, slightly making her feel woozy. She expelled the feeling of nausea and continued to get ready for bed. She removed her dirty and stained coat and jacket, revealing a plain black top, clearly too big for her. Naruto instantly recognized the smell of said top; it was one of his pyjama tops. Hinata crawled into her blanket, facing towards Naruto. She tried to whisper goodnight, but she wasn't able to find her voice, due to the furious lust and excitement circulating around her body.

An hour had gone, both Naruto and Hinata in complete silence. Both parties knew the other was wide-awake. Hinata, still surrounded by a wall of excitement, found it almost impossible to talk to Naruto, or to even sleep. She lay as quite as a statue, hoping she'd drift off into a deep sleep soon. However, Naruto was first to break the silence, "I read you diary." Hinata's eyes grew with confusion, "That ebony book in your bag, I read it. I'm sorry, but my curiosity got the better of me." Naruto flipped onto his other side, staring Hinata in the eyes. Hinata was too much in shock to avert her gaze, "It said something about your father; nothing more than him being cold and cruel towards you. However, I can sympathise for you… as I know exactly how it feels."

The silence that followed was almost deafening, but Naruto found his courage and continued, "I have a… a demon sealed inside of me." Hinata's eyes grew with worry, but she stayed quiet and still, listening to every word that left Naruto's mouth, "You remember the Kyuubi attack almost 15 years ago? Well, in the Academy, we were told that the Fourth Hokage had killed the Nine Tailed beast, but also died himself. That was nothing more than a lie. He couldn't kill the Nine Tails; the Demon was far too strong for any Ninja to face, so the Fourth had to seal it away. He had to seal it in a new born, namely, me. I've received indescribable acts of abuse during my life." His voice had a brittle quality, as if forced to re-live such memories once again. He slowly rose up into a sitting position.

"I was kicked out of every orphanage I've ever stepped into, inevitably leaving me to spend a good 4 years on the street, moving from trashcan to trashcan, hoping I'd be able to find a decent meal for the day. I usually went for more than 2 weeks without food, but the Kyuubi managed to keep me alive. I was beaten to a pulp on several occasions; I was on the verge of death countless times, but again the Kyuubi managed to save me. Every time I went to the Hospital, the nurses and doctors refused to heal me, afraid that my 'demon powers' would only get stronger." Hinata's expression was one of pure confusion and worry. She was worried for Naruto; she thought her life was rough, but compared to Naruto's, her life was similar to a fairy-tale. She was also confused as to why she never knew about the Kyuubi being sealed within Naruto. As if he could read her mind, he answered her question, "The Third Hokage passed a law forbidding anyone from speaking about the Kyuubi sealed inside me. While nobody was allowed to speak about it, that didn't supress their anger and hate. Naturally, the adult's anger and hate was passed down to their children, even though the children didn't really know why they hated me."

"But, Naruto-kun, why did they take their a-anger out on you? You're not the d-demon." Hinata tried her best to conceal her stutter; she was deeply curious, and cared about Naruto's well-being.

"Simple. I was the container for the Kyuubi; the villagers had to take their anger out on something, and anything that was remotely close to the Kyuubi is as good a victim as any I guess." Naruto shrugged, still keeping his gaze fixated on Hinata.

eHe

"I can't believe the villagers would do such hateful things to you…" Hinata whispered, still shocked to hear of Naruto's hardships.

"That's not even the worst of it." Naruto's voice trembled, frightening Hinata, "All that I really remember was that this happened when I was roughly 7. It was a Thursday, and I had been kicked out of the 18th orphanage for the day. It was close to 6:00pm, and I needed a place to rest my head; I had been running away from this group of kids that were intent on bullying me. Well, as I was kicked to the curb from yet another orphanage, that same group of kids found me. They beat me senseless; breaking most of my bones and almost destroying my internal organs. It was a miracle in itself for me to have survived that. What came next was something I'd only thought would happen to exiled Ninja's; they dragged my lifeless body to the cemetery and literally nailed me to a tree. All I remember after that is waking up, my arms outstretched over my head, and legs dangling below me. My hands and feet nailed to a tree, two kunai in each foot and four kunai in each hand. The kunai were driven deep into my flesh, stopping all my movement. There was another kunai embedded in my chest, just fractions away from my heart. I stayed in that position for almost a whole week before the Third Hokage found me. The pain that I experience throughout that week was… inhuman. It was a blessing – or even a curse – for me to have survived that. The Kyuubi worked wonders in keeping me alive; he was determined to make sure I didn't die." Naruto's trembling had worsened; his voice was just above a whisper, but Hinata had heard every word, her eyes steadily growing with more and more pain as each word reached her ear. Naruto tore his gaze away from Hinata, gluing his eyes to the dark floor instead.

Several minutes of silence had passed, mainly because Naruto tried to give Hinata enough time to properly digest the information. His eyes stayed fixated on the floor. "You're the first person to ever show me any care." Naruto finally slurred, his voice running wild with several different emotions. Hinata blushed slightly, before staring at Naruto, "I always thought it was out of pity, but maybe I was wrong. Perhaps I am wrong. I… I hope I'm wrong." Naruto's voice returned to a whisper, but Hinata was able to make out all the words.

Hinata gently placed her hand over Naruto's, earning herself a startling jump from the young Uzumaki, "I've always seen you as someone I care about, Naruto-kun. I don't care if you have a demon sealed inside of you; you are not a demon in my eyes." Hinata managed to whisper, her voice full of a warm and loving quality. "My view of you will never change, no matter what happens." Her volume slightly raised, as a loving smile took over her face.

Naruto's fear, doubt, trembling and anger had dissolved once Hinata's smile met his eyes. Naruto felt warm; he was overwhelmed with joy that someone actually cared about him. Hinata didn't see him as a monster, but as a person instead. Naruto returned Hinata's smile with a smile of his own, "Arigato, Hinata-chan; you really are awesome."

Hinata blushed at Naruto's praise; she felt joyous that she was able to remove all of Naruto's pain. More and more blood rushed to her head, overwhelming the young Hyuuga. She fell back on her blanket, fainting. Naruto also decided to call it a night, and gradually lowered himself to his blanket.

T-T

It was little after 6:00pm. The Hokage had learned of Naruto and Hinata's violent killing spree. He gathered as many Jounin Ninja's to inform them of a new mission, "I always knew the Nine Tailed Demon would betray his village, but I never expected the Hyuuga heir to do the same," The Sixth Hokage whispered bitterly to the several Jounin Ninja's in his office. "I want Naruto's head, and I want it before he attacks this village again. You must bring Hinata back unharmed; I refuse to believe she betrayed our village willingly." The several Jounin merely nodded their heads silently; they weren't comfortable with killing a Ninja of their own village, even if they were Missing-nin, "Naruto disposed of his former teammate, Haruno Sakura, and two of our finest ANBU operatives; you must proceed with extreme caution. Hinata ended the lives of Inuzuka Kiba and his pet, Akamaru. You must apprehend her with extreme caution as well. It is also said to believe that Naruto possess a powerful Dojutsu, more powerful than both the Sharingan and the Byakugan, but he has yet to awaken it."

Kakashi's eyes – or rather, eye – widened with fear, "You don't mean… the Rinnegan? How is that even possible; the Rinnegan is said to be just a myth." Kakashi cried, his voice little above a whisper as worry quickly took over his mind.

"I know it's absurd, and slightly worrying, but this is true by all accounts. Our main goal is to eliminate Naruto as quickly as possible, to completely sever the risk of being attacked by him. I hereby declare Uzumaki Naruto an SS Rank Missing-nin; I shall update the Bingo Books to tailor to his strengths and weaknesses. I also declare Hyuuga Hinata an S Rank Missing-nin for the time being, until we can figure out if her actions were forced upon her by Naruto." The several Jounin simply nodded, as they were about to take off. The Hokage stopped them abruptly with a quick wave of his hand, "There will be a funeral at 8:00pm, to mourn the deaths of several great and loyal Ninja's. I don't need to tell you that I expect to see you all there." With that, the Jounin left in silence, leaving the Sixth to ponder. "You will pay for this, Uzumaki Naruto." The Hokage bitterly whispered under his breath, as he slumped to his chair in despair.

All the Ninja's in the Hidden Leaf attended the funerals of their fallen comrades, each one intent on avenging their wasted Ninjas. The Inuzuka clan mourn sorrowfully for Kiba; they would get revenge on Naruto and Hinata, whatever the cost. The Haruno clan screamed at cried, refusing to believe their young and beautiful Sakura had been killed so gruesomely. Out of all the attendants of the funeral, the Haruno clan had been the loudest, but most heartbroken. All ANBU Shinobi gave their respects to their fallen ANBU operatives, and briskly removed themselves from the heart-breaking atmosphere that the funeral ground possessed. The Rookie 9 – or, more accurately, Rookie 4 – were also devastated at the loss of their close friends. They were all infuriated with Naruto; they knew the villagers had shunned him out and detested him, but they had tried to show him warmth and friendship. It seemed their acts of friendship were of no avail to the young Uzumaki. They were also angry with Hinata, though nowhere near as much as they were with Naruto; none of the former Rookie 9 had really liked Kiba or Akamaru, so hating Hinata wasn't in their nature, but they respected him nonetheless. "Has anyone seen Team Gai? They should have gotten word of Naruto and Hinata's treachery, shouldn't have they?" A young Chunnin questioned, his eyes filled to the brim with tears, as he mourned the death of his younger cousin.

"Him and his team were told of the devastation, and immediately forfeited their mission to return to Konoha. Hopefully they run into that damned Devil brat and dispose of him." Another Chunnin stated bitterly, as he gritted his teeth in frustration. "That fucking Demon Fox has caused us enough pain and sorrow; we should have executed him when we had the chance." The Chunnin whispered, as he spat his cigarette towards the floor.

The rest of the funeral was spent in utter silence, apart from the many weeps and tears that could be heard from the funeral grounds. Many Ninjas left the funeral at roughly 9:15pm, as others stayed to pay their respects until as late as 3:00am.

T-T

"_Naruto… please… pl-please… don't kill me…" Whispered Sakura, as Naruto's bloodlust began to take over. He held her neck tightly with his right hand, his unsheathed nails digging through the flesh surrounding her windpipe. "Please Naruto… let me g-go." Sakura's eyes filled with tears, as she frantically begged for her life to be sparred. This, however, was futile, as her pleads were simply ignored by the excited Naruto. He grinned menacingly, before letting out a devilish cackle. He slowly raised his left hand, before shaping it into a deadly fist. He swung his fist directly into Sakura's face; a sickening crunch could be heard, as Naruto's fist had crushed Sakura's skull with ease. He grinned once more, before raising his fist again, briskly driving it into Sakura's face…_

Naruto abruptly awoke from his slumber. Sweat surrounded his entire forehead, as he quickly sat up. He slowly rubbed his head, as the memories of his dream replayed repeatedly in his mind. His eyes started to burn, for reasons unknown to the young Uzumaki. He quickly decided to find a lake to attempt to cool his eyes before they got worse. He silently left the tent, as he remembered Hinata was also in the tent. Naruto stepped outside into the cold breeze of the night. The dark atmosphere was accompanied by the many wonderful sounds of nature. Naruto couldn't help but to stare in awe at the many glow-bugs that surrounded the tent. Before he knew it, his vision started to blur, and all he was able to make out were smudges of colour in all directions. He rubbed his eyes slowly, hoping his vision would be corrected soon. He dragged his feet into the direction of the nearest lake; 'Perhaps some water will help,' he concluded. His vision only became worse as time went by; he was hardly able to make out where he was going, but he continued nonetheless.

Stumbling his way through the forest, he managed to reach the lake in less than 15 minutes. His head started to pound in pain, as his eye vision only decreased. He collapsed to the floor, his eyes burning and his head throbbing unconditionally. He could feel a burning sensation in his eyes, as if someone had begun to burn a message into his eyes. His head continued to throb; Naruto couldn't take any more of the pain. He violently grabbed the side of his head, and let out a blood-curdling scream. The pain in his eyes and head didn't seem to dull down, it only seemed to increase as time went by. Naruto clutched the sides of his head for another 3 minutes, hoping the pain would subside eventually. Before Naruto had even a second to comprehend it, the pain abruptly stopped. Naruto quickly jolted his eyes open, and his vision had returned to normal. 'What the hell is happening to me?' He mentally question, as he slowly and carefully rose to his feet.

He slowly marched his way to the lake, only to be shocked at the reflection the lake produced. Naruto's facial features remained unchanged; he still donned the signature 3 whisker marks on each cheek. His eyes, however, were a completely different story. Both of his eyeballs had a ripple-like pattern, with light purple irides and sclerae. Naruto stared at his reflection in disbelief; he had heard myths of the infamous Rinnegan, but he never believed them to be true, and now he had the Dojutsu known as the Samsara's Eye. He shook his head, and continued to stare at his reflection. He blinked twice in rapid succession, and the Dojutsu subsided. He again blinked twice in quick succession, and they re-activated. He smiled slightly; at least he was able to activate and de-active it at will. He de-activated it once more, and made his way back to camp.

T-T

Hinata awoke to the soothing sound of birds chirping. She raised her head slightly and looked around. She looked next to her, only to find an empty bed cover. Her nose notified her of a sweet aura, and she shifted her gaze to the open entrance of the tent. She quickly threw on her black jacket and made her way outside.

The blinding light was first to greet Hinata, as Hinata had difficulty adjusting to the sudden change in brightness. She rubbed her eyes sleepily, dropped down to the floor next to her bag, and looked for something to eat. She managed to find a freshly picked apple, which she hadn't remembered placing in her bag before she left. She shrugged, and bit into the juicy and fresh apple. Her mouth was full of wonderful flavours and juices, as she slowly ate the apple, savouring the sweet tastes even further. Once she had finished her apple, she disposed of the core by using her chakra to dissolve it to ash. She got up elegantly, and brushed away the dust from her jacket. In the distance, she could hear the repeated sounds of battle, and she rushed her way towards it.

Naruto had been training ever since he found out he had the Rinnegan, and he continued to train to make better use of his Dojutsu. Naruto knew of the powers and perquisites that the Rinnegan would bring, and he was determined to utilize all of them. He could see chakra all around him once he activated his Rinnegan, though it was slightly blurred, and he found it difficult to concentrate hard enough to see the chakra clearly. He had already mastered using each Chakra Nature; he found it easy to get the hang of wind, fire and water, but earth and lightening were slightly more challenging. He also mastered the Deva and Asura paths of the Six Paths Technique. He could pull a full-grown tree towards him with little to no problems, and he could push the tree away with ease. He could also create multiple weapons in the blink of an eye, and he could additionally coat himself in powerful armour, capable of deflecting a Rasengan without even sustaining a scratch; his shadow clone had helped prove that point. He also managed to create several different types of Rasengans, each one infused with a different type of nature manipulation. He concluded that his Wind Style: Rasen-Shuriken was the most devastating in terms of power and speed, as it was easily able to obliterate almost 7 acres of forest once he threw it. His knowledge and intelligence also dramatically improved, given the sheer amount of things he was able to master in such a small amount of time. He heard a rustle in the bushes behind him, and he immediately sensed Hinata's chakra. He de-activated his Rinnegan.

Hinata appeared out of the bush, with a relieved expression drawn across her face, "A-ano, Naruto-kun, I thought you we-were fighting K-Konoha Ninja." Hinata spoke, her voice embedded with relief and joy. She slightly smiled, as her cheeks began to burn with a scarlet blush.

Naruto let out a small smile, and turned to face Hinata, "No, we're fine, I was just training my Dojutsu since this morning." Naruto's eyes grew with confusion as Hinata's jaw almost hit the floor.

"Y-y-you have a Dojutsu? I didn't k-know you possessed a B-Bloodline Limit Na-Naruto-kun." Hinata gazed into Naruto's eyes as she slowly walked closer towards him.

"Heh, yeah, it only 'awakened' last night, and I've been training to control it ever since."

"W-what Dojutsu is it N-Naruto-kun."

"Oh, it's the Rinnegan; it's quite handy once you know all of its abilities." Naruto smiled joyfully as he saw the expression drawn across Hinata's face, "That was more or less my reaction once I found out I possessed possibly the strongest Dojutsu in the entire world. I was shocked tremendously as well; I always thought the Rinnegan was nothing more than a myth." Naruto let out a small chuckle, and quickly activated his Rinnegan, "See, it's all there. It's like the Byakugan and the Sharingan combined, with a Hell of a lot more powers thrown in of course; I can essentially see all kinds of chakra, but it's a little blurry I guess. I can also see an enemy jutsu and work up a counter for it in a couple of seconds; this thing is truly amazing!" Naruto smiled sheepishly and placed his hands behind his hands.

"A-ano, Naruto-kun, but maybe I can h-hel-help you fix the problem y-you're having with s-seeing chakra; it took me a c-couple of weeks t-to see chakra c-clearly with my Byakugan." Hinata's blush only became more furious, as she twiddled her fingers and stared at the ground.

"Arigato, Hinata-chan; that'd be a great help. We should get started on your training actu-" Naruto immediately stopped talking; he could see a massive chakra spike heading towards them from the direction of Konoha. His facial expression became one of worry; he didn't want to have to fight so soon. The Ninja landed silently high up in a tree next to Hinata. Naruto instantly stopped worrying once he realised who owned this chakra, "Hey, Kakashi-sensei, you can stop hiding now." Naruto de-activated his Rinnegan. Hinata blinked repeatedly as she felt a huge spike of chakra fill her senses. Before she knew it, a tall, silver-haired figure was standing next to Naruto, "So, you really did hear about our damned mission?" Naruto's voice was instantly bitter, but he still maintained a thoughtful smile.

"Yeah," Kakashi replied in an almost bored tone, "And the Elders told me to tell you that the mission is successful so far; you've been ranked as an SS Missing-nin, while Hinata is ranked as an S Rank Missing-nin." Kakashi explained, as he beckoned Hinata to come join the two. "I don't like this mission," Kakashi stated, his voice instantly losing its bored quality, as it took on a more serious tone, "I don't think anyone should have to take on this kind of mission, even if it's for the good of Konoha; there's just too much at risk." Kakashi addressed his views, his voice slowly regaining its bored-like quality. "Oh, I have a present to help with your training; think of it as a parting gift." Kakashi took out two sets of chakra-infused training weights; one set for Naruto, and another set for Hinata. "These training weights are chakra controlled; it will gradually increase in weight as you infuse your chakra into it. They will always retain the current weight, so you don't have to worry about having to re-infuse them every time you take them off. There's one set of weights for your body, another set for both arms and another for each leg. You should wear these weights at all times, so your body can get use to the excess weight. I don't need to tell you to gradually increase the weight setting, right Naruto?" Kakashi raised his eyebrow at the young Uzumaki. Naruto just grunted, "Anyway, there's something you may need to know. Team Gai wasn't at the funeral yesterday," Hinata's eyes grew wide with regret, while Naruto just continued staring into the sky, "They're returning to Konoha today. You might cross paths with them. Just a little word of warning; since they don't know about the mission, they will attack you based on orders from the Sixth Hokage."

"Nani, we get it; you don't want us to kill them, right?"

"Exactly, but you might be forced to," Kakashi replied simply, as he pulled out a small book from his Ninja pouch.

"A-ano, Kakashi-sama, we'll retreat if we see them." Hinata suggested.

"No, that won't do," Kakashi stated, as he flicked through the pages of his book, "If you retreat from the fight, they'll think something is suspicious. You'll have no choice but to fight them, even if it means you have to kill them," Kakashi explained, his voice once again taking on the bored quality. He flicked through another page of his book.

"We won't kill them, Kakashi-sensei, you have my word on that." Naruto grinned, his voice filled with sarcasm.

"I know you won't," Kakashi stated simply, before withdrawing from his book, "Naruto, I need to speak with you in private before I leave. Hinata," Kakashi turned his attention to the silent Hyuuga, "Would you mind waiting back at camp; Naruto and I need to speak in strict privacy."

Hinata let out a small whimper, before quickly composing herself, "Hai, Kakashi-sama. Please don't take too long, I really need to train." She bowed to Kakashi and caught a glimpse of Naruto's crystal blue eyes, and dashed off, her cheeks filling with burning blush.

"You seemed to have made an impression on her; nobody has ever rushed me like that before, especially when it comes to training." Kakashi sheathed his book, returning it to its original resting place.

"Yeah, I guess so. Anyway," Naruto squinted his eyes and gazed at Kakashi, "This is about my Dojutsu, isn't it?"

"Your Dojutsu seemed to have improved your intelligence." Kakashi jokingly mocked, "So, it's true? You possess the Rinnegan?" Kakashi's voice once again became serious.

"Yeah, and I've also managed to master a few of the abilities that the Rinnegan possess." Naruto quickly activated his Rinnegan, earning him a nod of respect from Kakashi, "I made a bunch of new techniques, most of them mainly based around the Rasengan." Naruto began to gather chakra in his hand, adding wind element to the mix. The ball of chakra began to take on the shape of a shuriken, "This is the most powerful technique I've ever used; I managed to destroy roughly 7 acres of forest with just one flick of my wrist." Naruto stopped the technique, and the ball of chakra disappeared into thin air.

"How did it happen; how did you awaken it?" Kakashi questioned, his voice filled with curiosity.

"Well, I had a nightmare last night," Kakashi's eyebrow rose slightly, but he kept quiet, allowing Naruto to continue, "It was about the incident yesterday. I… I had to relive the memory again. Anyway, I woke up, and my eyes started to hurt; my vision was blurred, and my eyes just continued to hurt with a kind of burning sensation. Anyway, I had to drag myself to the nearest lake to cool my eyes down. Once I reached the lake, my head started to pound with an immense pain; I couldn't even think straight, and I thought my head was gonna implode on itself. My eyes just continued to burn, metaphorically of course. Anyway, I had to sit through that pain for roughly 5 minutes before it just… disappeared." Naruto looked up into Kakashi's eye, and shrugged weakly.

"What do you mean, 'disappeared'?"

Naruto shrugged again, before continuing, "Well, the pain just… stopped. I then walked over to the lake and looked at my reflection, and I saw the purple eyes. That's it really, not going into detail of course." Naruto shrugged yet again, as he placed both his hands behind his head, "I've heard stories of how intense shock can awaken the Rinnegan; I guess that's what done it for me." Naruto grinned slightly.

"Well, I never expected to see the Rinnegan in my lifetime, especially from you, Naruto." Kakashi smiled, as he ruffled Naruto's hair, earning a frown from the young Uzumaki. Kakashi chuckled slightly at Naruto's expression, before he said his goodbyes, "Take care Naruto, and be careful; you never know when you'll be hunted down. Also, take good care of Hinata." With that, Kakashi disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Naruto sighed quietly, as he made his way back to camp. Kakashi was always cool and relaxed in any given situation, and today was no exception. Kakashi had seemed genuinely shocked about learning of Naruto's Dojutsu, but he still kept his cool. Naruto had always envied that about his former sensei.

Naruto had reached his camp in less than 2 minutes, and was greeted by a smiling – and of course, blushing – Hinata. Hinata slowly walked over to Naruto, her steps filled with care and grace, "What did Kakashi-sama want t-to talk about, Naruto-kun?" Hinata questioned, her voice filled with curiosity.

"Ah, nothing much really, he just wanted to learn more about my Dojutsu; I think he assumed you didn't know anything about it, that's why he wanted to speak in private." Hinata nodded at Naruto's reply, blushing as she did, "Anyway, we should start on your training; we've wasted enough time as it is." Naruto suggested. He gently took Hinata's hand and lead her back to the training camp. Hinata blushed indiscriminately at his sudden gesture, and allowed herself to be guided by Naruto.

A/N: Yeah, this story is rather long, but so is my dick. xD  
ANYWAY, I'll try to shorten the next chapter.


	3. Chapter 3

Missing Nins

**Bold writing – Kyuubi is talking  
**'Anything in inverted commas' – A person thinking to themselves.  
"In speech marks" – People talking (duh xD)  
_Slanted writing – Either a dream or a flashback.  
_T-T = Section Break

Chapter 3;

"God-dammit!" The Hokage screeched, as he slammed his fist down on the desk in frustration, "Where the hell is Team Gai; it's been two weeks since they were instructed to return to Konoha!" The Sixth Hokage was infuriated, but he attempted to regain his cool. He lowered his volume, and removed all frustration from his voice, "I specifically informed Gai to not engage with Naruto and Hinata should they cross paths; Naruto is too powerful an opponent for even Might Gai to fight." The Hokage sighed deeply, as he slumped into his chair. "Considering the fact that Naruto possesses the Rinnegan, - and has possibly awoken it by now - he'll be too difficult to fight alone, even if all four of them were to attack him simultaneously." The Hokage briskly shook his head in annoyance.

"Hokage-sama, Gai – no matter how… eccentric his actions are – wouldn't fight if he didn't need to, especially if his opponent is more skilled than he is; you have nothing to worry about. Perhaps Team Gai ran into a little detour on the way home." Kakashi suggested, his voice dripping with its usual bored tone. He briskly pulled out a book, as to stop the numbing pain that his boredom had created. "Anyway," Kakashi continued, as he shrugged his shoulders casually, "I wouldn't worry too much if I were you, Hokage-sama." Kakashi yawned, as he briskly left the Hokage's office.

The Sixth Hokage was left to ponder in the comfort of his office. He let out a sharp sigh, before majestically rising to his feet, slowly making his way towards the window. Konoha was still recovering from the devastating incident two weeks ago; the Konoha Ninja had lost their spirits, while the villagers were too frightened to leave their homes. The street in which the massacre had taken place was still infested with blood; a bad superstitious omen. The Sixth Hokage knew the Devil Fox would attack Konoha again eventually, and he wanted to take every precaution to ensure Konoha's victory; he didn't want his plan for Konoha to be ruined. He sighed deeply, as he stared out of the window, the evening sky entrancing him. He pondered the thought of a full-scale war erupting over Naruto's actions, but quickly disregarded that thought; he had enough worries on his mind for the time being, a war with Naruto would just have to wait its turn. He sighed deeply yet again, as he tore his gaze away from the evening sky, and slumped lazily on the chair, his thoughts burrowing a deeper hole in his mind.

**T-T**

"Nice one Hinata; do it once more, and we'll call it a day." Naruto began, his face drawn with a wide smile, "You've gotten the hang of this tree-climbing exercise quite quickly, I'm impressed." Naruto cried, his smile gradually growing as each word left his mouth.

Hinata was exhausted, her breaths shallow and heavy, but she replied nonetheless, "Hai, Naruto-kun, I've almost got it." Hinata managed to whisper, as she took deep breaths in-between each word. Hinata began to gather chakra in her feet – just enough to balance herself correctly – and she sprinted towards the nearest tree. Her feet latched on to the bark of the tree, allowing her to dash up the hard object with ease. She managed to balance herself, and ran towards the top of the tree, her feet glued to it with every step she took. She reached the top of the tree and allowed herself a small smile, before jumping off the brown figure, landing her feet elegantly on the soft and luxurious grass. Hinata let out a small gasp of joy as she realized she managed to master the Tree Climbing exercise in a matter of weeks. "Naruto-kun, I did it!" Hinata screeched, though her voice was still slightly exhausted from strenuous work.

Naruto nodded in approval at his young disciple, "Hai, and it was a good effort. I'm proud to call you my student." Naruto jokingly stated. Hinata's cheeks grew red with embarrassment, and she twiddled her fingers and stared at the floor. Naruto took a few steps towards Hinata, and gently rested his hand on her shoulder. Hinata's head instantly shot up as she felt Naruto's warm hand make contact with her skin. Her eyes grew wide with joy, as her scarlet blush refused to subside, "I'm amazed that you managed to master it so damn quickly." Naruto smiled, as he removed his hand from Hinata's tender shoulder, "But we've still got work to do in order to perfect your chakra control." Naruto activated his Rinnegan, and noticed Hinata was running dangerously low on chakra, "Looks like you've used up most of your chakra reserves; it'll be dangerous to continue any kind of training now." Naruto shrugged, as he de-activated his Rinnegan, "We'll continue tomorrow, once we both get some rest."

"A-ano, Naruto-kun, what kind of t-training are we going to do to-tomorrow?" Hinata questioned slowly, anticipating Naruto's answer. Over the course of the two weeks she had been with Naruto, she managed to gain slight confidence when in his presence, but still found it difficult to supress her stutter. Her blush also refused to subside; she always found herself blushing furiously whenever even remotely close to Naruto.

"I guess we'll have you practice walking on water; it'll help perfect your chakra control, as well as boost your overall chakra reserves." Naruto shrugged yet again, as he briskly pulled out a kunai and spun it around his index finger repeatedly. "Oh, and we have to work on your Taijutsi." Naruto stated simply, still spinning the kunai around his finger.

"Hai, Naruto-kun. We should head back to c-camp then." Hinata suggested, as she twiddled her fingers. Hinata heard a slight rustle coming from behind her, and her eyes grew wide with fear. Naruto had also heard the rustle, but decided to act oblivious, pretending he hadn't heard a thing, "We should head out before it gets dark, N-Naruto-kun." Hinata whispered, as she slowly made her way towards camp, followed by a cautious Naruto.

Naruto approached her side slowly, before slightly turning his head to look at her, "We're being followed; I think it might be Team Gai." Naruto mouthed silently, his facial expression remaining emotionless. Hinata's eyes slowly grew with worry, but she ushered the feeling of worry away briskly, "We can't run, so we have no choice but to fight them. You're also exhausted from excessive chakra use, so you need to go easy during the fight." Naruto mouthed, before he quickly turned around. Hinata froze in place and active her Byukigan. She could sense four different chakra readings, one of which belonged to her older cousin, Neji. She steadied her breathing, turned around to face the four Ninja's, and tapped Naruto on the shoulder, signalling to him that she was ready to fight, "You can come out of hiding now; we know you're out there Gai!" Naruto screamed, as his face drew a menacing smile.

**T-T**

"THE POWER OF YOUTH WILL DIRECT US BACK HOME!" Rock Lee cried enthusiastically, as he ran full speed up the mountainside. Both Neji and Tenten sighed deeply, and hung their heads in embarrassment. Might Gai released a heart-felt laugh, as he also sprinted full speed.

"YOU BAKA; WE HAVE TO WALK UP THIS MOUNTAIN BECAUSE YOU TOOK THE WRONG TURN HOME!" Tenten screeched, as her hands clenched to form a deadly fist, as a small vein became increasingly visible as her frustration grew. Her eyes burned with rage, as she dashed to catch up with Lee. Neji continued to keep his head bowed, as he muttered something about having idiots for teammates under his breath. He decided he'd scan the area, in case someone had followed them. He activated his Byukigan, and immediately sensed a huge chakra spike, and a weaker chakra spike. He de-activated his Byukigan, turning his stroll into a jog.

"Tenten, your Flame of Youth isn't burning strong enough!" Might Gai cried, as he ran along-side Lee's left side, "You could learn a few things from both myself and Lee!" Gai cried, as he pounded his chest with a fist, before shooting his fist up in the sky. Tenten grunted underneath her breath, as she ran next to Lee's right side. Lee shot her one of his trademark grins, his sparkling teeth glistening in the rays of the sun. Tenten shook her head in disgust, and averted her eyes from his gaze. Neji increased his speed, and ran along-side Tenten's right side. "Neji, what's wrong, did you sense an enemy?" Gai questioned, his eyebrows raised.

"Hai, I can sense two chakra signatures; I think they may be Naruto's and Hinata's, though I can't confirm." Neji stated, as he wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead, "They're exactly 4 miles south-west; should we intercept them and eliminate them?" Neji questioned.

"No, it's too dangerous to face two S Ranked Missing-nin on our own. We should simply follow them so we can get as much information from the as possible." Gai turned his attention to Lee, his voice taking on a much darker and serious tone, "That means stealth is necessary for this; we don't need our presence exposed." Lee let out a sheepish grin, before nodding his head in agreement. "Then it's decided!" Gai cried, his usual eccentric tone returning, "We will gather all the information on our enemy, and return to Konoha, our Flame of Youth still burning strong!"

"Sensei, don't I get a say in this?!" Tenten growled, as her frustration slowly began to get the better of her. She always found herself shunned out of the decision making of the group.

"Tenten, your Flame of Youth isn't burning bright enough," Exclaimed Lee, as he chose his next few words very carefully, "The Sixth Hokage will give you a new Ninja weapon if we bring back some intelligence on our enemy." Lee stated, as his grin grew wider and wider with each word. Neji sighed deeply, wanting not to get involved in the pointless conversation.

"REALLY?!" Tenten cried, her eyes sparkling with joy, "OH YEAH! WHAT ARE WE WAITING FOR, WE NEED TO GET A MOVE ON!" Tenten screamed, as she lunged in the direction of Naruto and Hinata.

"Wait, Tenten, don't be so reckless!" Neji cried, as he, Gai and Lee followed Tenten. Neji let out yet another annoyed sigh; he was shocked that Tenten actually believed Lee's bluff. The forest in which he and his team had to travel through was vibrant and extraordinary, infested by wildlife and hordes of trees. He began to ponder his thoughts as he made his way through the dense forest. He knew Hinata had willingly betrayed the Hidden Leaf, so despising Naruto for that aspect was completely futile. He, instead, was angry with himself for allowing this to happen; he and Hiashi were always cold towards Hinata, even when she tried her best. It was no wonder why she went against the Hidden Leaf. He shook his head slowly, and began to think of an attack plan, in case things didn't go as smoothly as the four had anticipated.

He eventually concluded that he would fight Hinata; he would render her unconscious, and bring her back to Konoha. Maybe then, he could convince the Sixth that Naruto was manipulating Hinata into doing his bidding. Neji sighed at the thought; there's no way the Hokage would allow a traitor to live among Konoha, even if said traitor was being manipulated. He thought to himself about the battle formation once again. Gai and Lee would probably attack the strongest opponent there, and Neji would be stuck with Tenten. Neji's thoughts were abruptly cut short, as he realized his team had reached Naruto and Hinata, "We're here." Neji whispered, his voice almost silent. Tenten, Lee, and Gai landed next to him and nodded silently in understanding, "If things don't go as smoothly as we hope, we'll have no choice but to defend ourselves. Gai, Lee, you two will fight Naruto. He is most probably the strongest out of himself and Hinata, so you two together will be more than enough to take him down. Tenten and I will deal with Hinata." Neji whispered coldly. All four Ninja's nodded silently between one-another and silently moved in closer to gather as much information as they could.

"You can come out of hiding now; we know you're out there Gai!" Naruto screamed.

'Shit; how the hell did he know? There's no way anyone could have detected us that quickly!' Neji mentally cursed, as the four Ninja's appeared from out of the forest. An emotionless Hinata and a grinning Naruto instantly greeted them. "Naruto, Hinata, we've been ordered by the Sixth Hokage to eliminate you; you will pay dearly for your betrayal." Neji informed them, his voice cold and hateful.

"I was hoping to see the improvements my training gave me, and what better way to test myself than to finish off a few low-level Ninja's like yourself?" Naruto challenged the trio, completely ignoring Tenten. Tenten only grew increasingly agitated by Naruto's blatant disrespect towards her. She was about to scream at him, but she quickly composed herself, "Don't worry, I'm sure the Sixth will give you a nice little funeral as well, maybe then you will be recognized as 'Great Shinobi That Died To Protect The Village'." Naruto stated playfully, his voice dripping with sarcasm. He was rewarded with several hateful and cold glares, followed with a slight giggle from Hinata.

'What the Hell is up with this guy? Usually, he'd lose his cool as soon as he spots and enemy; he'd be the first to scream utter nonsense before rushing out towards his opponent, but he's being unnaturally cool.' Neji, Lee, Gai and Tenten mentally thought, as Naruto's expression changed to one of a sarcastic smile.

"Nani, are we just going to stand here all day trying to read each-others minds, or are we going to fight; I haven't got all day here." Naruto yawned slightly, his voice saturated in sarcasm and mockery. "While you're there mentally conversing with each other, I'm here thinking about the many ways in which the Hokage can inform your loved ones that you fell in battle." Naruto stated, his voice retaining its sarcasm. Neji, Lee, Gai and Tenten mentally winced at Naruto's sarcastic comments; they knew he was doing it to spark a reaction, but they still felt a strong sense of betrayal from his words. "Hinata," Naruto whispered, his voice losing all of its sarcasm, as it took on a more serious and almost silently tone. Hinata was able to hear him clearly however, as she slightly nudged Naruto to inform him that he had her full attention.

"Hai, Naruto-kun; you're only agitating them s-so they're not as f-focused during the fight, s-so their performance won't be a-at best, correct?." Hinata replied, her voice matching the same volume as Naruto's.

"Ah, you're sharp, but that's not what I wanted to tell you. Neji will probably try to fight you. I want you to purposefully lose against him, while trying your best to avoiding all forms of physical damage of course. I'll then active my Rinnegan, and Neji will have no choice but to fight me, leaving Tenten to you." Naruto silently smiled, as he imagined the shocked looks that Lee, Gai, and Neji would give him.

"Hai, Naruto-kun, I understand. Neji is a far better Taijutsu user than me; it's only natural that he'd overpower me. Tenten is a long-ranged type fighter; my Gentle Fist fighting style will be able to deal with her with relative ease." Hinata exclaimed, her voice retaining its almost silent volume.

"No, it's not that he'd overpower you, I just don't want your emotions to get in the way of your judgement; I believe in your skills as a Ninja, but we can't take any chances." Naruto explained, as he kept his eyes locked onto his opponents, "Neji will not waste any time trying to kill you, and he will succeed if you let your emotions get in your way." Naruto stated, as he turned his gaze to the blushing Hinata, "Don't worry, we already promised Kakashi-sensei that we'd spare them. All we have to do is pound them to a pulp, just so they'll leave us alone, dattebayo." Naruto cried, as he swiftly pulled a kunai from his ninja pouch.

"Hai. Naruto-kun, I understand the plan. Just… just take care, and don't get t-too reckless, N-Naruto-kun." Hinata squealed, as she felt Naruto's hand gently graze her shoulder. Her eyes grew wide, and she slowly turned her head to gaze into Naruto's crystal blue eyes.

"Don't worry about me Hinata-chan, I'll be fine. I'm sure they won't be able to defend themselves once I've activated my Rinnegan." Naruto smiled happily, as he continued, "Oh, and keep your training weights on; we can count this as part of your Taijutsu training, no matter how tedious it may be." Naruto explained, as he returned his kunai back to its designated resting place. "So," Naruto addressed his opponents, as he took a step towards them. Hinata followed him swiftly and confidently, "You want to fight us? You won't get very far with false-hope; there's no way you can beat Hinata-chan and I." Naruto's voice increased in volume as each word left his mouth. He continued to walk towards the four Shinobi, Hinata closely following him.

"We don't think we can defeat you," Neji claimed, as he took on a Taijutsu stance, "We know we can defeat you." Neji continued, his voice and face remaining emotionless. Lee, Gai and Tenten also got ready by posing in their respective Taijutsu formations.

Naruto couldn't help but scoff at Neji's remark. "Do you really believe that, or are you just acting brave to protect your worthless team?" Naruto questioned, his voice dripping with sarcasm. Before Neji had any time to respond, Naruto had disappeared into thin air, and Hinata began sprinting towards Tenten and himself. Neji raised his hand in a guard position, whilst Tenten jumped further away from Neji, preparing her long-range attacks as she landed. Hinata was in front of Neji in a matter of seconds, and she raised her right hand to begin to attack. She used the momentum from her sprint to drive her fist towards Neji's face, but Neji's defence was flawless. He quickly ducked underneath her punch, and swiftly stretched his left leg out in a sweeping motion, on the intention to tackle Hinata to the floor. Hinata had predicted his movements, however, and hopped over his kick, before sending her knee down towards his temple. Neji's agility proved to be a valuable asset in his arsenal, as he dodged Hinata's powerful knee with ease. The two backed away from one-another, allowing them both to catch an un-needed rest.

"You've improved Hinata. I'm impressed a failure such as yourself managed to avoid my spinning-ground kick." Neji spoke, his voice filled with coldness, as he readied himself for another attack. Hinata merely returned Neji's cold voice with an emotionless expression drawn across her face, as she darted towards Neji, readying herself to attack once more.

**T-T**

Naruto re-appeared in front of both Lee and Gai, shocking the two Ninja's. Naruto allowed himself a slight smile as he caught Lee off-guard, sending a bone-crushing knee into the Shinobi's chest. Lee let out a slight whimper, as the pain from his chest filled every pore in his body. He stumbled back, clutching his chest in the process. Naruto took this opportunity as a chance to attack, and raised his right hand quickly, driving it towards Lee's stomach. Gai swiftly stopped Naruto's hand from making contact with his student, and delivered a back-heel kick to Naruto's shoulder, hurling the young Uzumaki away from himself and Lee. Naruto managed to balance himself at the last second, landing gently on his feet. "Pfft, you call that an attack? That barely even tickled!" Naruto screamed, as he formed a devastating Rasengan in his hand. He instantly remembered the promise he made to Kakashi, and dispelled the Rasengan, earning himself a confused look from both Gai and Lee. As if he could read their minds, Naruto spoke, "I'm going to kill you both without using any Ninjutsu; it'll be great for my Taijutsu training." Naruto's voice was full of mockery, and he smiled in pleasure as he realized his mocking tone had infuriated both Lee and Gai.

"HOW DARE YOU UNDERESTIMATE ME; I WILL NOW SHOW YOU THAT MY FLAME OF YOUTH BURNS BRIGHTER THAN YOURS, NARUTO!" Lee exclaimed, as he sprinted full-speed towards Naruto. Naruto's face drew a menacing smile, as he raised his hands into a Taijutsu stance. Lee jumped up into the air, landing inches in front of Naruto. Lee drove his fist into Naruto's belly; a sharp pain instantly filled Naruto's body. Lee removed his fist, and Naruto fell to his knees, allowing Lee to strike again. Lee spun his body around swiftly, flexing his leg out towards Naruto's head. His back-heel connected with Naruto's jaw, and a sickening crack filled Lee's ears. Naruto remained on his knees, almost threatening Lee to strike again. Lee raised his knee into Naruto's chin, forcing the young Uzumaki up off the ground. Naruto rose to his feet, only to be greeted by a powerful punch straight to his gut. Naruto winced as the pain swept around his body, blood trickling down out of his mouth. He let out a slight chuckle, and stared Lee in the eyes, Naruto's eyes burning with mockery. Lee grew increasingly furious, and he used his right hand to send a devastating punch into Naruto's face, sending the Uzumaki towards a hard tree. Naruto's body hit the tree with a sickening thud. His lifeless body hit the floor, and Lee gasped hard for air. Gai immediately rushed towards Lee side, giving him a smile of approval, "I did it, Gai-sensei. I took down an SS Ranked Missing-ni…" Lee's voice trailed off, as he heard Naruto let out a mocking laugh. Gai turned his attention to Naruto.

"So, you think you've beaten me?" Naruto questioned, his voice slightly disorientated due to a broken jaw, as he spat blood at the floor, "It'll take a lot more than that to beat me, dattebayo." Naruto slowly got to his feet, stumbling his way toward Gai and Lee. Naruto smiled as he lifted his head quickly, briskly getting into a Taijutsu stance. "I didn't want to have to use this," Naruto began, as he closed his eyes, "But you leave me no choice." Naruto quickly open his eyes, revealing his Rinnegan.

**T-T**

"It seems your teammate isn't as great as he likes to think." Neji stated, as he indicated a lifeless slump on the floor. Hinata remained in an all-fours position on the soft ground, and turned her head slightly to witness a lifeless Naruto. Her emotions took over, and her eyes filled with tears. "You and your worthless boyfriend were no match for us; Tenten didn't even need to join the fight." Neji sighed, as he moved closer towards the defenceless Hinata. "I will give you only one chance." Neji whispered, as he placed his lips near Hinata's left ear. "Surrender to us, and we'll bring you back to Konoha. We can convince the Sixth that you were manipulated; you'll be forgiven, and you can return to your normal life." Neji's voice remained almost silent. He moved his lips away from Hinata's ear and placed his face inches away from hers, as he raised one eyebrow, "Well? What will it be?" Hinata shot Neji a hateful glare, and spat in his face, her saliva over-run with blood. Neji stood up from the ground and wiped the blood from his face, "So be it." Neji stated simply, as he gathered chakra in his palm for one last attack.

"NEJI, WE NEED YOU TO ASSIST US!" Gai screamed, his voice piercing the very peaceful surroundings of the forest. Neji turned his attention to his sensei. His eyes glanced towards Naruto, and he met with Naruto's cold smile. Neji's expression turned to one of fear and disbelief, as he instantly sprinted towards his sensei's side. "Good, you're here. We need all the help we can get." Gai stated, his breaths shallow, mainly due to his fear.

"Naruto has the Rinnegan?!" Neji's voice exploded, as Neji again glared at his purple-eyed opponent.

"Hai, I'm afraid it's true, Neji. Naruto is in possession of the most powerful Dojutsu. We have no hope in defeating him now, unless our teamwork is absolutely flawless."

"B-b-b-but didn't you damage him?! I mean, I saw his body hit that damn tree with enough force to shatter every bone in his fucking body!" Neji exclaimed. His anger was slowly taking over.

"No, it seems Naruto's injuries were only a bluff, as were Hinata's." Gai stated, as he addressed Hinata. Neji averted his gaze to the now standing Hinata. She stood in a perfect Taijutsu stance, waiting eagerly to attack Tenten.

'What in Kami's name is going on here?! She couldn't even breath properly 2 minutes ago, let alone stand, and now she looks as if nothing ever happened to her.' Neji thought bitterly. Neji's thoughts were cut short as his ears caught sound of Naruto yawning loudly. Neji shot Naruto a look of despise, as Neji questioned the young Uzumaki, "Just what the Hell is going on here?! You were clearly injured, and now you're walking around as if nothing fucking happened!" Neji's anger and confusion increased dramatically as each word left his mouth.

Naruto slowly and deliberately popped his jaw back into place, earning a slight wince from his opponents. He casually rubbed his chin as if he had a minor itch, "Well," Naruto began, as he stretched his arms, "Let's just say Hinata and I are… completely out of your league; you have no hope in defeating us." Naruto yawned again, as he slowly made his way towards the trio of Ninja's standing before him, "Let's just hope you can keep up with me, no?" Naruto shot the trio a feral smirk, as he disappeared in a blur of colours. Neji felt a sharp pain shoot through his cheek, and another sharp pain briskly followed, though this one was focused on his chest. Neji collapsed to the floor on his knees, using his hands to prevent himself from toppling over, not sure of what just caused the immense pain he was feeling. Naruto suddenly appeared in front of Lee, and Neji's eyes grew wide with fear; Naruto was inhumanly fast, and Naruto acted as if it was normal for Shinobi to be this fast. His hands tightly gripping Gai and Lee's necks. "I'll give you one chance…" Naruto began, his voice taking on a sinister tone, "Run away, and inform the Sixth that he hasn't a chance of defeating us." He launched both Lee and Gai through the air, and they landed harshly onto the ground about 12 metres away from Naruto. Naruto swiftly raised his leg and swung it towards Neji, his foot making contact with Neji's stomach. Neji let out a shill scream, as pain began to work its way through his body. Neji's limp body was thrown through the air, and it landed opposite Gai. Naruto's sinister smile only seemed to grow larger, and he briskly made his way towards Hinata.

"How… are you… so strong?" Tenten gasped, as her exhausted body hit the ground with a hard thud. Hinata stood over Tenten's lifeless body, her face holding no emotion for her opponent. Tenten continued to gasp and pant for air as excruciating pain enveloped her body.

"It's simple," Hinata began, as she relaxed her body out of her Taijutsu stance, "You are inferior to me." Hinata stated simply, as she turned her back to Tenten. "You won't be able to move properly for at least another month, maybe 3 weeks if you're lucky." Hinata informed her opponent, her voice taking on a bored quality, as if she had relayed this message at least a thousand times. Tenten's rage slowly began to get the better of her, but her pain inevitably overpowered her rage. In almost a split second, Naruto appeared by Hinata's side.

"Hinata-chan, nice work." Naruto gave her a smile of approval. Hinata contained herself from blushing, as Naruto continued, "We should leave these runts and return to camp; I'm sure they can walk home by themselves." Naruto stated, his voice filled with sarcasm and disrespect. He de-activated his Rinnegan, as he and Hinata dashed off back to camp.

5 minutes passed after both Naruto and Hinata had left. Gai and Lee slowly rose to their feet, exchanging looks of worry and fear between one-another as they did, "I never expected our opponent to be that strong." Gai whispered, as he calmly picked up Neji and slung him over his shoulder, much to the Hyuuga's cries of disagreement. "Neji, you're in no condition to walk; me carrying you is the only way for you to travel right now." Gai coolly informed his student, as he and Lee made their way towards Tenten.

"Argh… Tenten, are you okay; can you walk?" Lee asked, a certain amount of concern and pain embedded in his voice.

"No, I'm far… from okay. I don't think I can walk… that Hinata brat tore most of the chakra points in my legs." Tenten weakly replied, a small but painful smile spread across her face.

Lee instinctively picked her up and positioned her in a piggyback position on his back, "Then I will have to carry you home; I refuse to allow you to cause further strain to yourself!" Lee cried, though not as enthusiastically as he would usually do.

"I can't believe we were… defeated so easily; they acted as if it was just training for the two of them." Neji spoke, his voice taking on a tone of disbelief.

"Hai, it's hard to believe Naruto improved so much, as well as Hinata. The Hokage will be disappointed in knowing we can't contain this threat sooner than later, but it can't be helped; nobody in the village is strong enough to fight him." Gai slowly shook his head in annoyance and disbelief. "In any case," He continued, his voice taking on its usual enthusiastic tone, "We need to inform the Sixth of our opponents increase in skill." Gai informed his team. His team simply responded with various grunts and moans, which Gai took as a suitable agreement, "I take that as a yes. We will need to train much harder and much more frequently from here on out; we will not rest until we can defeat Naruto and Hinata!" All of the Gennin Ninja – excluding Lee, of course – paled indiscriminately at Gai's suggestion of training.

'We almost lost our lives fighting an opponent much stronger than any of us; how the Hell can he be thinking about training?!' Neji and Tenten thought mentally in unison, as they glared at an all-too-excited Lee.

"HAI, GAI-SENSEI, I WILL GET STRONGER SO THAT I CAN DEFEAT NARUTO, THAT IS A PROMISE!" Lee cried, as he flashed his gleaming smile.

Gai nodded simply, a small smile spread across his face, "Hai, that's good to hear. What about you, Neji, Tenten, will you train furiously to become stronger?!" Gai was replied with two short grunts for replies, which he – again – took for a yes. He nodded quickly, before setting out towards Konoha, closely followed by Lee.

The four limped and stumbled their way back to Konoha in utter silence.

A/N: Sorry this took me so long to finish and that it may not be as good as my other Chapters, I was just getting distracted from writing. :P  
Sorry it's not all too long, I didn't really have that much to write about. :O  
Chapter 4 will be much more interesting, and will feature a **slight **NaruxHina moment! 3  
OH, The Sixth Hokage identity will be revealed soon, possibly in Chapter 7 or 8. It'll be a crazy turn of events, though it'll be a little difficult to understand until later Chapters, unless you're a crazy smart-ass daredevil. :)  
Anyway, review and shit, that's always nice. :D


	4. Chapter 4

Missing Nins

**Bold writing – Kyuubi is talking  
**'Anything in inverted commas' – A person thinking to themselves.  
"In speech marks" – People talking (duh xD)  
_Slanted writing – Either a dream or a flashback.  
_T-T = Section Break

Chapter 4;

"Hey, Itachi, slow down will ya'; Pain expected us to finish this mission in a few weeks, not a few days, and plus I'm tired!" Kisame cried, his voice over-flowing with exhaustion and annoyance. "And besides, Samehada needs to rest; he's all worn out." Kisame pointed to the over-sized blade clutched in his hand. The blade murmured in agreement with its master's suggestion.

The two had been traveling for five straight days, leaving very little time for rest and recovery. They had been ordered by their 'boss' to liberate any villages that dared to oppose their organisation, the Akatsuki. They managed to annihilate 14 small villagers during their travels, each village posing little to no threat for the pair.

Itachi sighed deeply, before turning to face his partner, "Tell me; how does an inanimate object such as a sword grow tired?" Itachi questioned, his voice taking on a sarcastic tone, as he raised one eyebrow in curiosity. "Moreover, we've faced little to no resistance; I think you're bluffing when you say you and your sword are worn out." Itachi hissed, his voice over-flowing with sarcasm.

Kisame instantly recognized Itachi's sarcastic voice. He scoffed in retaliation, as he answered Itachi's question, his voice becoming increasingly annoyed as each word left his mouth, "I don't need to explain my exhaustion to you; I've obviously done more work than you have. Besides, we've already been through this Itachi; my Samehada isn't like any other sword; him and I are one-and-the-same. Our chakra is almost identic…" Kisame abruptly stopped ranting the moment Itachi's hand had been raised to the sky.

"Please, you can stop there. I don't need another one of your mind-numbing lectures; you go on and on about that damned sword like it's a real person sometimes." Itachi criticised, as he removed his hand from above him and placed it back into his Akatsuki coat. Samehada whimpered at Itachi's harsh words, to which Kisame responded by placing a gentle hand on the swords bandaged surface.

"Itachi, you know Samehada is sensitive at best; you speaking foul about him will only decrease his self-esteem." Kisame informed his partner, as his sword let out another whimper.

"See, there you go again." Itachi whispered, as he turned his back to Kisame. "Can you just refrain from talking about your damned sword please, just until we get to the village?" Itachi requested, his voice saturated with boredom.

"Yeah, fine, whatever you wish for, your Royal Highness." Kisame stated, his voice dripping with sarcasm. He immediately bowed, his actions deliberately slow and exaggerated. A small snigger could be heard from inside the bandages of Samehada. Kisame tilted his head up slightly, and was greeted by an emotionless Itachi. "What, do you not like being addressed as Royalty?" Kisame mocked, as he straightened himself out. Itachi scoffed loudly, as he again turned his back towards his partner. "Oh c'mon Itachi, it was just a joke! I promise not to speak about Samehada anymore, you have my word!" Kisame promised, his right hand laid across his chest.

"I know you won't," Itachi began, "Because if you do, I will put you under the most terrifying Genjutsu you've ever experienced," Itachi's voice became cold and heartless. He turned his head slightly, so Kisame could see his left eye. Itachi's eye changed into a crimson red, as 3 distinctive black patterns encircled his pupil, "And I mean it." Itachi warned, as he deactivated his Sharingan, almost as fast as he activated it.

"Ah, there's no need to get hostile on me like that Itachi, I was only kidding! I won't bring up Samehada's emotions anymore, I swear." Kisame's voice lost its original jokey tone, and took on a more serious and dark persona. "Anyway," Kisame began, his voice returning to its usual tone, "We should get going; the sooner we get to that blasted village, the better." Kisame stated, as he placed Samehada in its usual resting place, before walking casually towards Itachi. Itachi sighed yet again, marching briskly in the direction of the village.

"This is the last village on our list," Itachi informed his partner. Kisame simply kept quiet to allow Itachi to continue, "This village is more defended than all the others, Kisame, so you must be careful; any recklessness will get you killed." Itachi's voice was dripping with seriousness as he continued, "This mission is futile; these villages wouldn't dare oppose our organisation, so I don't see why we have to eliminate them; Pain has become increasingly desperate for bloodshed it seems." Itachi shook his head slowly before continuing, "Pain's bloodlust will be his downfall one day, I just know it." Itachi's voice was barely above a whisper.

"Ah, Itachi, you shouldn't be talking about Pain like that, you know what he'd do to you if he found out." Kisame warned, as he caught up to Itachi. "But I can't help but wonder why Pain wants us to murder so many defenceless people; I mean, I don't mind killing a few people, but he's taking it a bit too far, no?" Kisame questioned, his voice filled with curiosity.

"Pain has become corrupt due to his bloodlust." Itachi stated simply, his voice returning to its usual cool tone. "Anyway, we should cease our conversation on this topic."

"Hai, I think that's a good decision. Oh yeah, did you hear about that massacre in Konoha?" Kisame questioned, as he turned his head slightly to gaze at Itachi's emotionless face.

"Who didn't hear about it? Everyone knows that Uzumaki Naruto and that Hyuuga Hinata betrayed their village and murdered their comrades in the process." Itachi explained, his voice slowly becoming more intriguing. Kisame shot him a sarcastic gaze. Itachi ignored his partners actions, and continued, "I can't help but wonder what caused them both to betray the very village they were raised in; I can slightly guess why Naruto became Missing-nin, but I find it hard to come to a conclusion for the Hyuuga heir." Itachi concluded, as he shrugged slightly.

"Maybe the Hyuuga was being manipulated by Naruto?" Kisame suggested. Itachi shot him a glare of pure confusion and doubt, "Okay, I guess that's not likely. Maybe she likes him, and wants to be with him." Kisame again suggested.

"That could be the reason," Itachi wondered aloud, "But I find it difficult to come to terms to. Perhaps she was fed up with the treatment of her family; I once heard that the Hyuuga clan are relentless when it comes to raising a child, especially the Main Branch." Itachi spoke in a monotone voice, his eyes almost completely shut. Itachi began to ponder more about Naruto and Hinata's unexpected betrayal, 'Could it be that they're on a mission to protect Konoha?' Itachi's eyes grew wide with curiosity. He turned his head to face his partner, "What if they were ordered to become Missing-nin in order to protect Konoha, much like I was when I had to slaughter the entire Uchiha clan?" Itachi questioned, his voice energetic as if he broke the most difficult puzzle.

"Itachi, don't you think you're thinking about this a bit too much?" Itachi glared at his partner, his eyes slowly burning with hatred, "Okay, okay, you could be on to something. What will we do if you're right?" Kisame spoke defensively, trying desperately to not provoke Itachi.

"We'll have to wait and gather sufficient evidence to support my theory," Itachi began, as he turned his head away from Kisame, "But if I am right, we may have to leave Akatsuki. Naruto and Hinata could use our help."

"WAIT, waitwaitwaitwaitwait, you're suggesting we should team-up with them?!" Kisame screamed, as he placed a confused hand on the side of his head.

"That's exactly what I'm suggesting. If they are on this mission for the well-being of Konoha, then I am almost part of that mission too. Besides, I know how you really feel about Akatsuki and Pain. You despise both the organisation and the leader with a passion."

Kisame thought hard about his current choices; he could either refuse Itachi's proposal and go back to taking orders like a lab rat, or he could follow through with Itachi's plan, and be hunted down by Akatsuki for betrayal. He sighed deeply, before reaching a conclusion, "Fine, whatever, as long as I don't have to look at that fucking Pain anymore." Kisame hissed, his voice filled with annoyance.

"I'm glad we're on equal terms." Itachi replied simply.

"Simple terms; you practically forced this decision on me." Kisame muttered sharply, as he hung his head in defeat.

"Let's just say I know a good decision when I see one." Itachi replied, as he shrugged slightly, "We should finish this mission quickly; the sooner we have time to think about our actions, the better."

The two continued walking towards the village in utter silence.

The evening sky brung forth an atmosphere of pure bliss; the gentle melody of running water filled the air, the humming symphony of the many birds and the orchestra of insects and wildlife rung through the ears of all that could hear. The astonishing sight mesmerized Kisame. He closed his eyes and sighed in relaxation. Itachi stopped walking, only to be almost crushed by Kisame. "Argh, Itachi! What the Hell; why'd you stop all of a sudden?" Kisame groaned, as he slowly rubbed his throbbing head.

Itachi stood as still as a statue. He turned to his right, and could faintly make out a bright-yellow flash, followed by a dark-purple blur. "I think we've found them." Itachi whispered. He turned towards Kisame and signalled for his partner to remain quiet. He then turned back to the area in which he saw the yellow and purple colours.

"What do you mean, 'we found them'? Found who exactly, the villagers?" Kisame mumbled, as he focused his gaze to where Itachi was staring.

"No." Itachi replied simply, still gazing towards the bright-yellow flash, "I think we just stumbled upon Hinata and Naruto." Itachi murmured, as he silently made his way towards the vibrant colours.

"What?!" Kisame whispered, as he followed Itachi, "You can't be serious. Damn, now we have no choice but to team-up with them." Kisame thought aloud, his voice bitter and quiet.

"We were going to team-up with them eventually; we're just bringing the inevitable closer to our schedule." Itachi explained, his voice never straying from its volume.

"Yeah, whatever." Kisame sighed deeply. "Of all the luck, we had to run into these fuckin' brats at this time." Kisame groaned, as he caught up to Itachi, "Are you sure you saw them? Maybe your Sharingan is playing tricks on you?"

"No, I'm certain I saw a bright yellow fla-"

"Why don't you just use your Sharingan to confirm it?"

"I don't want to cause unnecessary strain on my eyes, baka." Itachi shook his head slowly. Both Itachi and Kisame jumped with shock as the peaceful atmosphere was pierced with a high-pitched cry.

"YIPPE; now they won't dare mess with us again!"

Itachi's face drew a menacing smirk, and he turned to face Kisame. Kisame looked away instantly, and scoffed under his breath. "Didn't I tell you I saw them?" Itachi questioned, his voice filled with a victorious tone.

"Yeah, whatever." Kisame replied, as he again scoffed, but this time loud enough for Itachi to hear, "So, are we going to introduce ourselves, or are we just going to observe them from the shadows?" Kisame questioned, his voice filled with curiosity.

Itachi considered his options, continuing his walk towards Naruto and Hinata, "We'll get closer to them for now. We'll introduce ourselves to them tomorrow." Itachi began, as Kisame followed closely behind him, 2Is that okay with you?" Itachi asked, as his voice took on a sarcastic tone.

Kisame sighed deeply before replying, "Yeah, fine, whatever, just as long as you drop that damned sarcasm act."

Itachi smiled in victory, stopping 3 metres from Naruto and Hinata's camp-sight. "We're here; keep silent, and make sure to conceal your chakra as best you can." Itachi mouthed silently to his partner.

Kisame simply nodded his head to Itachi's commands.

**T-T**

"YIPPE; now they won't dare mess with us again!" Naruto screamed, as he threw himself to the ground lazily, landing on his back with a sudden thud. He gathered all the air he could carry in his lungs, and let out a joyous sigh. The evening sky shone brightly, entrancing Naruto as he stared up in awe at the wonderful sight. Hinata stood some 4 meters away from Naruto, a worried expression hanging on her face.

"A-ano, Naruto-kun, what we did was re-reckless; we could have been hurt." Hinata whispered, as her cheeks began to burn with scarlet blush.

Naruto gazed at Hinata as if she had gone insane, "What do you mean Hinata? We did what we had to do, and it worked; there's no need to get so worked up about anything." Naruto explained, before he sat up, still gazing at Hinata.

"I know, Naruto-kun, but what we did was careless; we should have just retreated instead of hurting our friends." Hinata whispered, as he looked down at the floor, her burning blush slowly fading away.

"Nani, didn't you hear Kakashi's advice? We had to fight them no matter what; it was inevitable for us to fight them." Naruto replied, his voice slightly annoyed.

"But we didn't have to hurt them!" Hinata screeched, as she clutched her hand into a tight fist. "I know we had to fight them to make them believe that we are their enemy, but we didn't have to hurt them like that!" Hinata bellowed, as tears began to form in her eyes. She violently turned her head away from Naruto, breaking her gaze from Naruto's eyes as she did so. Naruto stared at her in guilt and shock. He slowly rose to his feet, and silently made his way towards her. "I don't want to hurt anyone from Konoha, even if we have to pretend to be the enemy," Hinata explained, her eyes stay glued to the floor, as tears began to fall. Before Hinata had a second to prepare herself, Naruto had wrapped his arms around her waist, and pulled her into his chest for a tight hug. Her anger instantly dissolved once her soft body made contact with his body. She gasped suddenly, as she froze from shock and joy. She slowly looked up into Naruto's eyes, and let out a small smile.

"I'm sorry for making you do that to Tenten," Naruto began, as his grip around Hinata's waist tightened, "I shouldn't have made you hurt her so badly. I shouldn't have hurt Neji in that degree either; I just lost control of myself." Naruto explained, as he averted his gaze into Hinata's tender lavender eyes. Naruto couldn't help but smile slightly as his eyes met with Hinata's, to which Hinata replied with a small giggle, "I promise that we'll never hurt another Ninja from Konoha." Naruto whispered, as he loosened his grip on Hinata. Hinata reluctantly pulled herself away from Naruto, her cheeks burning violently with scarlet blush, "Our mission is to protect Konoha. Hurting Konoha Ninja kinda defeats the purpose of our mission," Naruto shrugged, as he continued, "So if we ever have to fight Konoha Ninja, we'll retreat." Hinata's smile grew wider and wider as each word reached her ear. She nodded furiously, and let out a small murmur in agreement. Naruto smiled slightly, before continuing, "Dattebayo, don't worry, I don't go back on my word! Anyway," Naruto looked up at the sky, "We should get ready for bed; it seems it's getting quite late." Naruto concluded, as he gracefully walked towards the tent, removing his jacket as he did so. Hinata stared in awe at the young Uzumaki, her imagination running wild. She promptly shook away her thought, and slowly made her way to the tent.

Naruto briskly entered the tent, and threw his jacket towards his corner of the tent. He sighed deeply, before throwing himself onto his blanket. Hinata entered the tent, and blushed deeply once she caught sight of Naruto's half-naked self. She tried averting her eyes, but it was to of no avail; the sight of her crush seemingly trapped her eyes. She slowly made her way to her blanket, her eyes still glued on Naruto. Naruto turned his head slightly, and was greeted by a blushing Hinata. Hinata tore her gaze away from Naruto's chest, and stared at the floor in embarrassment, "G-g-g-g-g-omen, Naruto-kun…" Hinata's voice trailed off as she heard a quiet chuckle from Naruto.

"Nani, it's fine, I'd probably stare if you were half-dressed as well." Naruto's face drew a wide grin, as he let out another small chuckle. Hinata's head rushed with boiling blood; her cheeks began to violently burn with scarlet blush. Her head felt too heavy for her head, and she collapsed onto her mattress. Naruto stared at Hinata, a dumbfound expression lay dormant on his face. "Was it something I said?" Naruto quietly questioned to himself.

**T-T**

"Do we really have to stay awake all night?!" Kisame questioned, his voice falling victim to drowsiness. The two had stayed up for little over 8 hours, leading to Kisame's unavoidable sleepiness.

"Yes, it is essential for us to stay awake, just to take precaution."

"Precaution against what; a fucking war or something?" Kisame hissed.

Itachi raised an eyebrow in annoyance before replying to his teammate, "No, to take precaution of they wake up. It would be troublesome if they were to find us asleep; they would more than likely assassinate us."

"What makes you think they won't try and kill us if we show ourselves anyway?"

"They may as well attack us on sight; there's no guarantee that we'd be able to reason with them." Itachi coolly explained.

Kisame's jaw almost hit the floor, "WHAT?! Are you fucking kidding me?! So you're telling me that we could be killed by these brats if we show ourselves?" Kisame questioned, his voice instantly losing its drowsy quality, "Itachi, I thought you were smarter than this; I would have expected you to have formulated a plan or something, not to improve like this so recklessly."

"And where's your plan then?" Itachi criticised, his voice instantly dripping with sarcasm. Kisame simply scoffed at Itachi's remark, "And it's sometimes better to improves than it is to plan ahead." Itachi informed his partner. A small murmur could be heard from Naruto and Hinata's tent, "I think they're beginning to wake up."

"Damn, how early is it? It only looks like it's around 6:00am." Kisame groaned, as he began slowly stretching each of his muscles vigorously. Naruto walked out of the tent, his eyes heavy and his movements slow and slurred. "He's waking up this early? Damn, this kid must have a Hell'o a lot of energy." Kisame whispered to himself, before rising warily to his feet, "Hey, Itachi?"

"Hmm?" Itachi replied simply, keeping a keen eye on the tent.

"I'll tail that Naruto kid; he's probably going to go train now, if our information about him is correct."

Itachi sighed slightly, before tearing his gaze away from the tent, "Hai, but be cautious; if he spots you, he may kill you." Itachi warned, his voice saturated with seriousness and foreboding.

"Y-y-yeah, alright, don't worry about it." Kisame replied quickly, slightly frightened by Itachi's change in voice tone. Itachi averted his glare back to the tent. Naruto slowly rubbed his eyes, before dragging his feet towards his training ground, "Seems like he's on the move. Make sure nothing happens to that Hyuuga girl while we're away; I'd hate for him to lose his temper." Kisame said, as a cold shiver traversed his spine. He shuddered slightly, before silently following Naruto.

"That Kisame will never change." Itachi sighed, as he shook his head silently. "That Naruto is going to be troublesome to train as well." Itachi murmured, as he continued to focus his eyes upon the tent. "Why did I have to get stuck on Guard Duty?" Itachi hissed under his breath.

**T-T**

"Wind Style: Rasen-Shuriken!" Naruto roared at the top of his lungs, as a huge ball of chakra began to gather in his hand. The chakra quickly began to take on the shape of a shuriken. Naruto grinned slightly, before chucking the ball of chakra towards a nearby tree. The chakra rippled through the air, tearing through the atmosphere like a knife through butter. The chakra hit the tree, and the tree exploded into a number of pieces, each piece glowing brightly with chakra. Naruto stared at the now-destroyed tree, and sighed deeply, "It's not powerful enough." Naruto muttered under his breath. He began to gather chakra in his hand yet again for another attack.

'How the fuck? This kid has been at it for almost 4 hours now; how the hell does he have this much stamina?!' Kisame mentally thought, his mouth hanging wide open. 'I wouldn't be able to use this much chakra for this damn long; how the hell can this kid do it?' Kisame shook his head slowly, before turning his attention to Naruto.

Naruto began to gather more and more chakra with each passing second. The ball of chakra was huge once Naruto had finished colleting chakra. It stood several metres tall; roughly the same height as a fully-grown male. Naruto grinned with satisfaction once his eyes met the devastating Rasengan, "Looks like I just made a new Ninjutsu." Naruto cried triumphantly, as he marvelled the huge boulder in his hand. He began to add Wind to the chakra, transforming it into a deadly and destructive force. He launched the Rasengan at blinding speed towards a tree. The Rasengan made contact with the tree, reducing the tree to ashes as it did so. The Rasengan continued to fly forward, obliterating everything in its path. "Now that is more like it!" Naruto screamed, as he raised a triumphant fist to the air, "I know just what to call it; Wind Style: Giant Rasen-Whirlwind!" The Rasengan continued its path of destruction, leaving Naruto and Kisame to gaze at it in complete awe, "Maybe I should do something about it though." Naruto whispered to himself, his voice still filled with pride and joy.

"I… I… I don't even… how the Hell is that even possible? No mere Genin should be able to accumulate that much chakra, regardless if they have a Tailed Beast sealed inside them." Kisame muttered to himself, as his eyes grew with confusion. "Itachi needs to know about this." Kisame briskly rose to his feet and pelted off into the direction of Itachi.

"So, Itachi's here as well?" Naruto's clone murmured to itself, as it disappeared in a cloud of smoke. "That Uchiha Itachi is troublesome, as his that partner of his, Hoshigaki Kisame." Naruto thought aloud to himself, as he began to dispel his Rasengan. "I don't think they want to fight; they would have attacked me already if that was the case. Plus, they could have attacked Hinata if they really wante…" Naruto's voice trailed off as he remembered that Hinata was still asleep. His eyes grew wide with worry, and he quickly shot his head to the direction of camp, "SHIT, HINATA!" Naruto screamed, as he bolted towards camp.

**T-T**

"Itachi!" Kisame cried, his voice saturated with exhaustion. "There's something you need to know." Kisame's breaths were shallow and deep, but he managed to splutter out his words.

"Whatever it is you must tell me, can you do so in a quieter tone; our friend is still fast asleep." Itachi gestured to the tent, his face emotionless.

"Yeah, whatever. Anyway, there's something you need to know about Naruto." Itachi raised an eyebrow in curiosity, but kept quiet. Kisame took that as his opportunity to continue, "That kid just… created some kind of monster technique; he used the Fourth's signature technique and… modified it."

"What do you mean 'modified it?'" Itachi questioned, as he turned his full attention to Kisame.

"Well, he made the damn thing big as fuck to start with! Then he added some kind of Nature Manipulation to it; I think it was wind, but I couldn't quite make it out." Kisame desperately explained, his words frantic and clumsy.

Itachi turned his head away from Kisame, gluing his vision to the ground, "Shit… I never expected that boy to be able to be able to surpass us at such an early stage." Itachi cursed under his breath, before turning his gaze back to Kisame, "Was there anything else you noticed?"

"Nope, only that he created – probably – the most powerful fuckin' Ninjutsu of the last several generations." Kisame moaned, as he fixated his gaze on the tent, "Should we go wake her up?" Kisame pointed towards Hinata's tent, "It's not healthy for someone to spend so much time in bed."

Itachi sighed slightly, before majestically rising to his feet, "We might as well; I'm getting increasingly stressed and annoyed with having to wait." Itachi slowly made his way towards the tent, with Kisame followed closely behind him.

"If Naruto tries to attack us, don't be hesitant to use your Mangekyo Sharingan on him; I doubt he'd listen to reason." Kisame informed his teammate. Itachi simply nodded in understanding. "Good." Kisame replied simply.

Itachi and Kisame were roughly 5 metres from the tent when a sinister chakra spike filled every fibre of the pairs' bodies. Itachi looked around quickly, his head darting in each and every direction. Kisame stood still, his breaths almost silent. "Where's that chakra coming from; it's too evil to be the Kyuubi's." Itachi whispered to himself. A bright-yellow flash caught Itachi's attention; he instantly knew who's chakra that belonged to. Naruto suddenly appeared in front of the tent, his teeth clenched and his eyes burning with hatred. "Kisame," Itachi turned to face his partner, "Can you please explain to me how Naruto was able to sense you while you were spying on him?" Itachi whispered, his voice filled with killer intent.

"I don't know; I had my chakra supressed to the point that it was almost non-existent." Kisame replied in defence, his eyes never leaving Naruto.

Itachi sighed deeply before turning to face Naruto, "We haven't come here to fight you," Itachi began, his voice cool and calm, "We merely have a proposition for you."

"A proposition? What the fuck do you scum want with me?" Naruto hissed, his voice dripping with hatred and anger.

"We just want to talk, nothing more." Itachi's voice kept its cool and calm tone.

"Yeah you brat, we just came here to talk!" Kisame cried, as he took a step towards Naruto, "We didn't come here to fight you or your girlfriend; we came here to help you."

Naruto ignored the 'girlfriend' remark and shot metaphorical daggers at the pair, "Help us with what exactly?" Naruto questioned, his voice slowly losing its infuriated quality.

"We know about your mission," Itachi began to explain, earning himself a dumbfounded look across Naruto's face, "You were instructed by the Elders to become Missing-nin, correct?" Itachi questioned, as he too took a step closer towards Naruto.

"H-hai, all that is correct so far." Naruto replied simply, his anger vanishing quickly.

"Then you and I are the same." Itachi concluded, as a small grin crept across his face, "And I am almost obligated to help you in your mission."

"I can only believe so; you were instructed by the Elders to annihilate the Uchiha clan to protect Konoha, right?" Naruto asked, as his anger had completely dissolved. He walked closer towards the open-mouthed Itachi.

"H-h-h-how do you know that?" Itachi questioned in a sinister tone, his eyes wide with shock. Naruto let out a small grin, before quickly activating his Rinnegan. Both Itachi and Kisame stared at Naruto, their mouths hung open wide, as shock and confusion over-flowed through their minds, "N-no way, that's not possible." Itachi frantically whispered, "No, there's no way you can possess the Rinnegan."

"I thought Pain was the only individual in the entire world that had the Rinnegan." Kisame muttered to himself, his eyes never leaving the purple texture of Naruto's eyes.

Naruto's face drew a slight smile as he was inches away from the pair, "Yeah, I was shocked as well when I found out I possess the Rinnegan. Anyway," Naruto looked up at Kisame, slowly shifting his gaze to Itachi, "I think I can trust you guys. How do you propose to help us?" Naruto shrugged, as he deactivated his Rinnegan.

Itachi cleared his throat, "Well, Kisame and I have decided to help train you both, and we have also decided to allow you to stay at one of our hideouts."

"How secure is this hideout of yours?"

"Very." Kisame answered in a cool but informative manner.

"I hope so. What kind of training will we be doing?" Naruto questioned, as his gaze turned to the tent.

"Kisame will be teaching you and Hinata Taijutsu, while I will teach you Ninjutsu and Hinata Genjutsu; it helps if at least one of your team members is a Genjutsu user." Itachi explained.

"Yeah, and plus, I saw how hard you trained Naruto; the Ninjutsu training will be a piece of cake for you." Kisame grinned, as he continued, "However, my Taijutsu training will be Hell on Earth."

"I have no worries about the Taijutsu training," Naruto began, as he fixed his eyes on Itachi and Kisame, "But I have one question." Kisame nodded silently, "Is it alright with you if I teach Hinata, Kisame-sama?" Naruto questioned.

Kisame slowly turned his head towards Itachi, a sarcastic smile slowly creeping onto his face. Itachi scoffed silently, and turned his head away from Kisame, "Well, I have no problems with that; the less students the better. But, why exactly do you want to train her yourself?"

"Well, I fear that your training methods may be too much for her to handle, and plus, I promised Hinata I'd train her, and I never go back on my word."

'I told you Itachi.' Kisame thought mentally, before turning to face Naruto, "Yeah, okay then, as long as she is actually improving, I don't mind how you go about it." Kisame replied coolly, before smiling triumphantly towards Itachi.

"We should leave before it gets too dark." Itachi informed the two quietly, as he briskly sprinted away from the campsite.

"Baka; he never waits around for anyone." Kisame cursed, as he watched Itachi run off. "Anyway, here are the co-ordinates for the hideout," Kisame handed Naruto a small piece of paper. Naruto clutched the small paper gently in his hands, before resting the paper deep within his pants pocket, "We'll be waiting for you; Konoha has probably informed all the other Hidden Villages about your bounty, so staying here isn't safe." Kisame warned Naruto, as he pulled a small black book from his Ninja pouch. He briskly flicked through the pages, and found his way to the end of the book, "This was only updated recently; it has both you and Hinata's information stored on it." Kisame showed the page to Naruto;

Uzumaki Naruto;

Ninja Registration Number: 012604

Age: 14

Height: 148cm

Weight: 41.3kg

Hair Colour: Yellow

Eye Colour: Blue

Ninja Rank: Genin

Skill Level: Special Jounin / Kage

Missing-nin Rank: SS Ranked Missing-nin

Classification: Jinchuriki of the Nine Tails

Bloodline Limit: None / not activated

Other Notes: Apprehend Naruto using extreme caution; a five-man cell is the required minimum to attack Naruto. He is extremely skilled and highly mentally unstable.

"Highly mentally unstable? I resent that." Naruto jokingly hissed. He focused his attention on Hinata's page;

Hyuuga Hinata;

Ninja Registration Number; 012612

Age: 14

Height: 149cm

Weight: 39.4kg

Hair Colour: Dark purple

Eye Colour: Pale

Ninja Rank: Genin

Skill Level: Chunnin / Jounin

Missing-nin Rank: A / S Rank Missing-nin

Classification: Heiress to the Hyuuga clan

Bloodline Limit: Byakugan

Other Notes: Her Byakugan is undeveloped; she should be easy to apprehend given that Naruto isn't around to aid her. However, do not underestimate her.

Naruto studied the page for several minutes before closing the book and handing it back to Kisame, "Their information is correct for the most part," Naruto began, as he placed the book into Kisame's rough hands, "I'm still sore over that 'highly mentally unstable' remark." Kisame chuckled slightly, as he placed the book back into its original resting place, "But their lack of information will be their downfall; they don't think I have any form of Bloodline Limit." Naruto shrugged slightly, before continuing, "And them underestimating Hinata like that; they're effectively setting themselves up to die."

"Yeah, those Konoha Ninja are quite foolish," Kisame nodded in agreement, as his eyes caught sight of Itachi waiting impatiently.

"Well? What are you waiting for; we need to get going." Itachi croaked, his foot tapping furiously on the ground, "We don't need our journey to be even more troublesome than it already is."

"Yeah, just give us a second, I was just showing Naruto the Bingo Books."

Itachi sighed deeply, before replying, "Can we leave now?" Itachi's voice was saturated with boredom, as he slowly began to walk towards the hideout.

"Naruto, you wait here until Hinata wakes up; it'd be best if you inform her of the situation." Kisame stated, as he got ready to take his leave.

"Hai, don't worry, I was going to wait for her anyway." Naruto shrugged, as he made his way into the tent.

Kisame grunted slightly, before quickly making his way towards Itachi

A/N: There were a few spelling mistakes in earlier Chapters; sorry about that, I just did a half-arsed job of proofreading that shit-nizz. :P  
Also, I will be updating this bitch every 5 or so days now; my exams have started and I need time to revise my nipples for the milking process; once my exams are finished, I shall go back to the usual update times; I will **definitely** finish this story off. :D[-  
Reviews are swell; follows and favourites also fill my heart with joy; continue doing that! :3  
Oh, and a big shout out to both Hannah K and MonkeyDVegetto, your reviews really made my day. :D


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